Nature’s Beauties

When ancient Greek and Roman statues were discovered in Italian ruins during the early Renaissance, gardens were planted around them to magnify their beauty and preserve their resting places. A notable garden during the 16th century and today is the Belvedere Court at the Vatican, which displays well-known pieces such as the statue of Ariadne, caught in repose, and the Laocoön, an assemblage depicting the Trojan priest Laocoön and his two sons being attacked by giant serpents. What was also born during this time was the modern sculpture garden.

“The sculpture garden is a dynamic art,” explains English landscape historian John Dixon Hunt in the book, Thinking the Sculpture Garden: Art, Plant, Landscape. “It changes through time moment by moment, weather system by weather system, season by season, year by year. The plants grow, mature, and die. Eventually, so do what we normally consider as works of art, but on a different time scale…”

Although these spaces offer the opportunity to view art, as Dixon Hunt points out in his text, they are also spaces where walking occurs. “A garden is seen in and through motion. A freestanding sculpture is to be seen (at least ideally) from all directions, so we need to walk around it, as we do in even a smallish garden.” Viewing and moving, while also embracing natural scenery, is the essence of sculptural gardens. They are places where space appears unlimited, perhaps sky’s the limit, for meditative viewing, sketching, and learning, but also activities outside of art, such as exercising and picnics.

The United States is home to many famous sculptural gardens that feature grand sculptures made by artists both within and outside the country, contemporary pieces, and those sourced from the past. Alongside their year-round displays, many of these parks also host community events and artist sales.

Although originally purchased with the intention of being a tuberculosis retreat, the land that sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and her wealthy husband, Archer Huntington, bought in South Carolina in 1930 would become what is considered America’s first sculpture garden park.

Still standing today after 96 years and open to visitors, Brookgreen Gardens holds over 2,000 works of art by 430 artists in its permanent collection, often presented through special exhibitions. On view includes the work of historically significant sculptors such as Daniel Chester French, Frederic Remington, Laura Gardin Fraser, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, alongside more contemporary names like Glenna Goodacre, Herb Mignery, and Sandy Scott. Also included are the sculptures of Brookgreen’s founder, Anna Hyatt Huntington. Outside of art, the park preserves plants from the American southeast and cares for exotic animals at its Lowcountry Zoo. brookgreen.org

Frequently ranked as one of the best sculpture parks in the nation, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park offers over 200 sculptures within its northern Midwestern scenery. Alongside its permanent collection are rotating exhibitions that highlight other forms of sculptural garden art, including the recent debut of the Chihuly at Meijer Gardens show, on view until November 1.

Alongside its artistic offerings, which range from Auguste Rodin to Ai Weiwei, nature is a part of the organization’s mission, as its towering artwork stands near waterways, walkways, and meadows. Meijer Gardens also hosts multiple events around Grand Rapids, including master lectures and plant show series, as well as the international art competition and cultural festival, ArtPrize. meijergardens.org

Unlike other sculptural art parks, Calder Gardens is dedicated to one artist: Philadelphian sculptor Alexander Calder. Nestled in the heart of Philadelphia on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Calder Gardens offers a quiet space where the acclaimed artist’s metal kinetic mobiles sit amongst a vast garden of 37,000 perennials of over 195 varieties, 150 types of trees and shrubs, and 15 kinds of climbers. In and outside its 18,000-square-foot interior space by Herzog & de Meuron, there is a range of Calder’s small hanging pieces to multi-ton sculptures that trace the artist’s 50-year career through rotating installations. caldergardens.org

Upon arriving on San Juan Island, visitors will find the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park. On view are over 150 sculptures from around 90 well-known and up-and-coming artists, including pieces by Lucy Congdon-Hanson, Pokey Park, and Gerry Newcomb. Art lookers can walk five of the 20-acre park’s dog-friendly trails that embrace the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The park was created in 1998 by Kay Kammerzel as a nonprofit and was formerly a farm and orchard, with many fruit trees and some fence posts from its former life still standing. sjisculpturepark.com

In the open air of Loveland, Colorado, stands the art of the Benson Sculpture Garden. On display in the 10-acre park is a permanent collection of 188 sculptures, ranging from Western to surrealist styles. Surrounding the sculptures is greenery and colorful garden displays, some of which are maintained by volunteers through an adopt-a-garden program.

Often featured in rankings as a significant modern and contemporary art site, the park attracts thousands of visitors worldwide through its Sculpture in the Park event. Hosted by the Loveland High Plains Arts Council each summer, this year will be its 42nd celebration with an art show and sale occurring from August 7–9. bensonsculpturegarden.org

Originally founded in 1960 by Ralph E. Ogden for Hudson River School painting, the Storm King Art Center reopened in April after closing for the winter season. The New York Hudson Valley 500-acre outdoor museum provides visitors the opportunity to view site-specific commissions, temporary exhibitions, and permanent large-scale acquisitions by artists such as Alicja Kwade, Maya Lin, and George Sugarman within a landscape that includes farmed fields, woodlands, wetlands, and water. stormking.org

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