Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden
Why is it significant?
Step through the modern glass pedestrian gates into the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, universally ranked by art critics, landscape designers, and travel authorities as one of the finest outdoor sculpture gardens in the world.
Key Facts
| Place | Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden |
|---|---|
| Address | 1 Collins Diboll Cir, New Orleans, LA 70124, United States |
| Geo Coordinates | 29.98750, -90.09450 |
| Part of Walk | Bayou Saint John and City Park Heritage: Ancient Waterways and Live Oak Groves |
| Generated | Generated |
Step through the modern glass pedestrian gates into the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, universally ranked by art critics, landscape designers, and travel authorities as one of the finest outdoor sculpture gardens in the world. Opened in November 2003 and expanded in 2019 to encompass eleven breathtaking acres, this extraordinary public landscape seamlessly blends world-class modern and contemporary sculpture with the natural subtropical beauty of centuries-old live oaks, tranquil lagoons, and whispering pine groves.
Look at how art and nature intertwine: monumental bronze, steel, glass, and granite sculptures are reflected in the dark, still waters of Bayou Metairie, shaded by Spanish moss that hangs from the branches of trees that were growing when Native Americans hunted here.
The garden features over ninety monumental sculptures by the world's most celebrated modern and contemporary artists, including Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Louise Bourgeois, Fernando Botero, Barbara Hepworth, Frank Stella, Maya Lin, and Sean Scully. A highlight is Robert Indiana's iconic "LOVE" sculpture in red and blue steel, alongside Do-Ho Suh's astonishing "Karma," an ascending vertical tower of thousands of polished steel figures sitting upon one another's shoulders, rising twenty-three feet into the live oak branches. In 2019, a six-acre expansion designed by Reed Hilderbrand landscape architects added an innovative canal system, an outdoor amphitheater, and a graceful modern canal pavilion that received international sustainability awards. Winding gravel paths, wooden bridges, and floating boardwalks allow visitors to experience monumental contemporary sculpture from every perspective.
Walking over a curved wooden footbridge as a great white egret perches beside a modern bronze sculpture, the harmony between human artistic genius and wild subtropical nature is sublime. It is a peaceful, world-class sanctuary accessible to everyone.
Walk northeast along the lagoon trail toward the ancient McDonogh Oak.