Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

One of our very favorite places to visit in New Orleans is the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at City Park. The only thing that was better than visiting by ourselves was sharing the Sculpture Garden with our friends Judi and Eddie.

White American Ibis standing by our table while we were Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

This beautiful Ibis came begging us for beignet!

Sculpture of a horse on the lawn as we Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Restrained, 1999, Bronze by Deborah Butterfield. American

Sculpture of a person sitting on the lawn holding their knees made of stainless steel letters seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends, side view

Overflow, 2005, Stainless Steel by Jaume Plensa, Spanish

Overflow, front view

In true NOLA tradition, we started off with coffee and beignets at the City Park location of Café Du Monde. From there it was a very short stroll to the entrance of the garden.

Enormous diaper pin with blue clasp spans the pathway through the sculpture gardens.

Corridor Pin, Blue, 1999, Stainless steel and aluminum with blue acrylic polyurethane enamel by Coosje van Bruggen, American born in Netherlands and Claes Oldenburg, American born in Sweden

Rustic sculpture of 4 warriors standing among the trees seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Riace Warriors, I, II, III, IV, 1983-88, Patinated bronze by Elisabeth Frink, British

Nude of a woman and baby standing among the trees seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Mother and Child, 1988, Bronze by Fernando Botero, Colombian

Trees with fall colors reflected in very still water take while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Reflection

Trees and landscape surrounding a pond, photo taken while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Natures beauty at the Sculpture Garden

Since Judi is also and artist and photography fanatic, she and I lingered at each sculpture, discussed them and took way more pictures than we needed. But we had to make sure we got the money shots!

Modern sculpture in white with black lines and color in the shade of the gardens.

Rebus, 3D-89-3, 1989, Painted aluminum by Ida Kohlmeyer, American

Rebus, side view

Rectangular shiny steel sculpture on gray pavers under hanging Spanish Moss. Photo taken while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Echo Echo Echo

Bronze of a salesman hanging by his feet seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Travelin’ Light, 1999, Bronze by Alison Saar, American

Extension ladder leads to a window open to view the tree beyond. Photo taken while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Window with Ladder–Too Late for Help, 2006, Metal ladder, steel underground structure, fiberglass, aluminum frames, by Leandro Erlich, Argentina

While we did that, Steve and Eddie chatted about world events, RVs and Eddie’s “mistress” – his Mini Cooper.

Extremely tall statue of a man with successive men stand on his shoulders. Each man is smaller than the one before as it soars to the sky. Photo taken while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Karma, 2011, Brushed stainless steel, by Do-Ho Suh, Korea

Karma, rear view.

Bronze stature of 2 figures that look like they are made from giant railroad spikes. Photo taken while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Sitting Figures (2), 1979-80. Bronze by Lynn Chadwick, Great Britain

Stylized bronze sculpture on the lawn seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Large Pulcinella, 1965-67, Bronze by Sorel Etrog, Canadian born in Romania

Statue of Venus holding a golden apple on the lawn of the sculpture garden.

Venus Victorius, 1914, Bronze by Pierre-August Renoir, France

The Besthoff Sculpture Garden encompasses about eleven acres in New Orleans City Park. It is adjacent to the New Orleans Museum of Art. Unlike most sculpture gardens, this one is located within a mature existing landscape of pine trees, magnolia trees and live oaks that surrounds two lagoons.

Bronze statue of Hercules with bow and arrow seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Hercules the Archer, 1909; cast 1947, Bronze by Antoine Bourdelle, France

Stylized sculpture of a person with a violin sitting on the ground seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

La Poétess, 1953, Bronze by Ossip Zadkine, French born in Russia

Bronze sculpture of a man's head on a marble pedestal by the iron fence of the sculpture garden.

Monumental Head of Jean d’Aire, circa 1884-86; enlarged 1909-10, Bronze by Auguste Rodin, France

Sculpture of men and babies being sacrificed during the Holocaust. Photo taken while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Sacrifice III, 1949-57, Bronze by Jacques Lipchitz, American born in Lithuania

Gold statue of a woman atop a pedestal with bow and arrow stands amongst the trees at the sculpture garden.

Diana, originally modeled 1886; cast 1985, Bronze with gilding by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, American born in Ireland

Originally conceived in 2003, the Sculpture Garden doubled in size in 2019 and has continued to grow over the years. Now the magnificent and picturesque garden design creates perfect outdoor “galleries” for the over 90 sculptures.

Bronze of a Cardinal in robes with mitre on his head seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Large Seated Cardinal, 1983, Bronze by Giamcomo Manzù, Italy

Sculpture of metal origami birds coming out of the water, seen through the trees while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Birds in Flight

Bronze statue of a drummer with helmet on seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

The Drummer, 1985, Bronze by Michael Sandle, Great Britain

Steve pretending to chat with a pair of seated sculpture on a park bench while Eddie talks on his cell phone.

Commiserating with friends…

Colorful statue of a woman with arms above her head, hands touching in art deco style. Photo taken while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Civitas, 1988, Patinated and gilded bronze, glass and marble by Audrey Flack, American

Steve and I first visited the gardens in 2006 and are continually amazed by how it seems to change with each visit. Which is what keeps us coming back each and every time we visit New Orleans.

Three sided sculpture of a dog, one side is blue dog, next is red dog and third is yellow dog. Photos taken while We Stand Together, Blue Dog Side, 2005, Steel, aluminum, chrome and acrylic paint by George Rodrigue, American

We Stand Together, Blue Dog Side, 2005, Steel, aluminum, chrome and acrylic paint by George Rodrigue, American

We Stand Together, Red Dog Side, 2005, Steel, aluminum, chrome and acrylic paint by George Rodrigue, American

We Stand Together, Yellow Dog Side, 2005, Steel, aluminum, chrome and acrylic paint by George Rodrigue, American

Giant spider made of bronze on the grass under a Live Oak tree seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

Spicer, 1996, Bronze by Louise Bourgeois, American born in France

Stylized bronze statue of a horse with sunlight shining on it seen while Sharing Sculpture Garden with Friends

In a different light, the sun is shining on Retrained as we leave the park!

I”m not sure who enjoyed the day more. I know that seeing the art with friends who had never been to the Sculpture Garden was quite rewarding. I felt like I saw pieces that I had not seen on previous visits. And because the weather was absolutely picture perfect, the sunlight on the artwork was spectacular!