Covering approximately eleven acres outside of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden features a diverse collection of sculptures of all types. Featuring dozens of work by contemporary and modern artists, the Sculpture Garden fulfills on a vision associated with enabling visitors to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings on multiple levels. These efforts have further bolstered the activity at NOMA to create an attraction that compels engagement from audiences on multiple levels.
A Contemplative and Idyllic Louisianan Environment
Established in 2003 to allow the public to enjoy art in a contemplative and idyllic Louisianan environment, the Besthoff Sculpture Garden is the result of Sydney and Walda Besthoff’s interest in collecting sculpture. A collaboration with NOMA and the City Park Improvement Association to permanently display their large-scale works led to the creation of the Besthoff Sculpture Garden. NOMA agreed to augment the Sculpture Garden with suitable works from its permanent collection, which has expanded and evolved since it was first established.
The Besthoff Sculpture Garden was designed around the vegetation and water features of the existing park. Trees, palmettos and shrubs were added to the site to align with the history of the area. This landscape allowed the garden to be designed in zones so that the sculptures would be revealed to and are experienced by visitors in distinct ways as they make their way through the Sculpture Garden.
Artists featured in the collection include Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg, Katharina Fritsch, Robert Indiana, Armand Pierre Fernandez, Henry Moore, Jeppe Hein, Elyn Zimmerman, Jaume Plensa, Auguste Rodin, Anish Kapoor, Beverly Pepper, Fred Wilson and Shirazeh Houshiary. The three works that were specifically commissioned for inclusion in the Sculpture Garden are a 60-foot-long mosaic wall by artist Teresita Fernández, a glass bridge by Elyn Zimmerman and an installation by Maya Lin inside the Sculpture Pavilion.
The subjects and themes of the pieces vary wildly, providing visitors with countless ways to interpret and interact with each piece. Multiple works with mirrored surfaces represent a powerful theme of reflection that allows the pieces to come to life. A sense of exploration and discovery has been consciously built into the Sculpture Garden, further enabling audiences to experience sculptures that focus on numerous subjects and movements, including surrealism, pop art and British abstraction.
The many ways in which audiences can experience the Besthoff Sculpture Garden have fueled interest that can be seen in terms of the continued support and activity it receives from residents and visitors. This activity and interest has fueled a positive economic and community impact that can be seen in numerous ways.
Community Connection and Continual Funding
As a collaborative effort between the New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park and the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Foundation, the Besthoff Sculpture Garden has enabled incredible growth for NOMA on multiple levels. The success of the Besthoff Sculpture Garden would lead to the creation of an outdoor amphitheater and stage along with an outdoor learning environment that is suited for festivals, social projects and classes. This success has also fueled growth in the public programming offered by NOMA.
On certain scheduled days, visitors to the Sculpture Garden can take classes in yoga, pilates and tai chi. They can also watch outdoor films, ride gondolas through the lagoon and listen to live music. Each year the Sculpture Garden hosts an Iris Viewing Festival in April, a Faberge Egg Hunt around Easter and the evening soiree “Love in the Garden” in September.
For direct revenue, admission to the Besthoff Sculpture Garden can be purchased as part of NOMA admission or separately. Two fully illustrated publications that feature the works on display in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden are available for purchase in the Museum Shop. These direct sources of revenue are in addition to the funding that the Sculpture Garden has received from various patrons that have been memorialized in various ways across the Sculpture Garden, highlighting an important means of continual funding.
Featured in guides to the city of New Orleans and an important part of NOMA, the Besthoff Sculpture Garden is an incredible collection of art and sculptures that is about much more than any of the individual works. The entire collection has become an important part of the present and future of NOMA and of New Orleans.
An Evolving and Expanding Legacy for New Orleans
There are sculpture gardens of various sizes and types all over the world, some of which have totally transformed the spaces they’ve been installed. Others help to connect a community or provide visitors with an especially unique experience. Still others are designed to serve as attractions that generate revenue or celebrate the history of an area.
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden has been able to do both of these things and more by enabling what some have described as a playground-type feel to a previously empty space at NOMA. Doing so has fulfilled a vision around how audiences can connect with art and nature to create a legacy that is set to further expand and evolve in the short and long term.
