Beauty is everywhere
10 beautiful works of art in America that are free for all to enjoy
Image: Adriaan Greyling
While a huge portion of the world’s best artworks are in museums, galleries, and private collections, many masterpieces are out in the open, embellishing their surroundings, free for everyone to admire and enjoy. These sculptures, statues, and monuments live in our parks, streets, or almost anywhere else. Pedestrians stumble upon them, most of the time without even taking the time to look at them. But when they do, their beauty speaks to them. America is brimming with amazing works of art everywhere you look. In almost every city, you can find artworks out in the open, for everyone to admire. Are you near any one of the following ten?
1
Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina
Image: Alano Oliveira
The largest collection of figurative American sculpture in the world –over 2,000 works– can be seen at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.
Everything is displayed outdoors, in gardens laid out in 1931 in the shape of a butterfly by the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband, rail magnate Archer Milton Huntington. The gardens are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2
Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis
Image: Nathaniel Shuman
With 105 acres and over 70 works, Laumeier is one of the largest urban sculpture parks in the nation . It has some really big pieces, including works by Alexander Liberman, Tony Tasset, Jonathan Borofsky, Odili Donald Odita, and more.
3
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis
Image: Meizhi Lang
The massive sculpture of a cherry atop a huge spoon prompts visitors to photograph it using perspective tricks to make it look like they’re eating the cherry. As spectacular as this artwork is, the garden has many more world-class sculptures, including important pieces by Alexander Calder, George Segal, Judith Shea, and Roy Lichtenstein.
4
Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
Image: Zalfa Imani
Taking a walk through the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas feels like being inside a prestigious world-class museum, but outdoors . Works by Rodin, Picasso, Brancusi, Koons, Calder, de Kooning, Giacometti, Matisse, Serra, and other masters can be found on the premises.
These grounds offer an uncrowded, intimate experience in which the sculptures feel like they're in conversation with one another.
5
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
Image: Andriy Oliynyk
If you happen to visit the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. in the winter months, you will find a skating rink along with Louise Bourgeois' Spider with a light dusting of snow, a Chagall mosaic, a variation by Robert Indiana on his famous LOVE statue , and 17 other important works of modern art. The garden is one of the most serene places in the city.
6
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Image: Omar KH
Being at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, in Kansas City, feels a bit like walking through a land of giants, amidst their huge everyday objects . Visitors will find mammoth shuttlecocks, amongst other monumental works of art.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum's outdoor sculpture park was originally named after Henry Moore because it contains a large number of bulbous works by that artist. His pieces eventually were joined by a fanciful glass labyrinth by Robert Morris, as were sculptures by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Alexander Calder, Mark di Suvero, and others.
7
Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle
Image: Elham Abdi
The Olympic Sculpture Park treats its visitors with sweeping views over Elliott Bay . The monumental sculptures complement the view in both directions. And, if you stand in just the right spot, Alexander Calder’s Eagle frames the Space Needle perfectly.
The park also features notable works by Louise Nevelson, Roxy Paine, Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois, Mark di Suvero, and Beverly Pepper.
8
Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York
Image: Mike Hindle
With 500 acres, Storm King is the largest sculpture park in the United States , offering its visitors several distinct ecosystems —woodlands, meadows, and lakes among them.
The park boasts works by numerous 20th-century art stars, including Maya Lin, Isamu Noguchi, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, Andy Goldsworthy, Anthony Caro, Louise Bourgeois, Sol LeWitt, and David Smith.
9
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Michigan
Image: Albert Dehon
The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, boasts Victorian gardens with pieces by famed artists Edgar Degas and Auguste Rodin , a collection of carnivorous plants, sweeping outdoor gardens (which include a 1930s-era farm garden), a Japanese garden, and a large outdoor amphitheater that hosts famed musicians every summer.
10
The Stuart Collection, California
Image: Is@ Chessyca
The Stuart Collection is an amazing grouping of artworks by world-famed artists like Michael Asher, John Baldessari, Mark Bradford, Jackie Ferrara, Do Ho Suh, and more. One of the collection’s goals is to reexamine conventional views of public art in playful and thought-provoking ways as it showcases experimental art to the public and the community.
