Not many people know of Grounds for Sculpture, a delightful discovery for anyone who appreciates beautifully landscaped grounds combined with outstanding gigantic sculptures. Definitely a must-see if you happen to be visiting the Philadelphia area.
For this Throwback Thursday, I return to Grounds for Sculpture, a 42 acre park, museum and arboretum in Hamilton, New Jersey. I visited this sculpture park in 2015.
As the name suggests, Grounds for Sculpture has well over 270 works of art in its collection of contemporary sculptures, most of them outside. The grounds promote the work of well-known sculptors as well as that of up-and-coming artists.
The park is enormous and there is so much to see that you will only get a general overview, if, as I did, you spend a few hours wandering along the paths in the park.
You know you are in proximity of the park when you see this "lady" at the bus stop….
….or these "people" greeting you as you enter the gates.
Even though you may have never visited this park, you might have seen the monumental sculptures of its founder Seward Johnson.
Seward Johnson, founder of Grounds for Sculpture
His exhibits have travelled around the world. His 26 foot tall Forever Marilyn appeared in Chicago, in Palm Springs, as well as in Victoria, Australia to name a few of the places. I remember seeing photos of the sculpture well before I visited Grounds, and well before I even knew who Seward Johnson was.
In his recent series, Icons Revisited, the sculpture Embracing Peace portrays the now famous kiss between a sailor and a nurse as the celebrations began in Times Square to mark the end of WWII.
With many of the sculptures on the grounds, I felt like I was intruding on intimate moments...
The titles made me chuckle.
To view the many sculptures that I did not photograph, click here.
Of note, Monet’s Garden (pictured above) and the Renoir “Were you invited?” (not pictured) sculptures near Rat’s Restaurant (delicious food by the way!).
Other notable Philadelphia area parks
In last week's Throwback Thursday post, I revisited another amazing park, Chanticleer in Wayne, Pennsylvania. And Longwood is by far my favourite botanical park well worth visiting for a whole day. With its ever-changing exhibits to suit the seasons and the various holidays, Longwood is always an enchanting place for child and adult alike.
All parks are within the Philadelphia area, no more than an hour's drive from the city.
They are all sights to that feed the artistic soul or for anyone who appreciates beauty and creativity.
Coming in October for subscribers to my newsletter: a pictorial travelogue of my end of summer trip to eastern Europe (Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina).
Which parks have you visited? which are your favourite?
