I'll second DeCordova, a very nice place.
How about the Gropius House right down the street? Very neat sitting there in the fields of Lincoln.
Posted on 05/04/2005 3:25:48 AM PDT by Republicanprofessor
LOS ANGELES - The late Hollywood power broker and producer Ray Stark and his wife have donated 28 masterpiece sculptures to the J. Paul Getty Trust to establish a sculpture garden at the Getty Center.
The 20th-century sculptures include the works of Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Barbara Hepworth, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Aristide Maillol, Joan Miro, Henry Moore and Isamu Noguchi, the Getty trust said Monday in a statement.
The works are mainly bronze and were created between 1911 and 1988. "They're very important pieces, very important artists," John Giurini, spokesman for the Getty Trust, said Monday. He declined to say how much the collection is worth.
The Getty and the Ray Stark Revocable Trust announced the donation last week after discussions that began in October, Giurini said. "We are delighted that the Getty has welcomed the collection, offering it such an appropriate home, and sharing Fran and Ray Stark's lifelong passion for art with the public," the Stark trust said in a statement.
Stark died Jan. 17, 2004, after a long illness. He was 88. He was a Hollywood publicist and agent, as well as a producer of such movies as Funny Girl and The Way We Were.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
I heard the story first on NPR this morning and here is the URL for that story, which is only audio. NPR deals with the various gift issues: the constraints are such that the Getty cannot sell any of this collection, even if the quality if not very good for some pieces.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4628871
I wish I had some visuals of some of the donated pieces.
Ping.
Oh hooray! A sculpture garden! Oh, I can't wait! That's what I call philanthropy! Just think of the thousands who will be helped by this useless donation!
Ray Stark
info Date of birth (location)
3 October 1914
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date of death (details)
17 January 2004
West Hollywood, California, USA. (heart failure)
Trivia
He once acted as Raymond Chandler's agent. (show more)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0823256/
I'm one of "the thousands" who like going to sculpture gardens.
Or at least you're one of "the dozens."
What do you guys have against sculpture gardens? They are nice places to visit. What should be done with these pieces? Dump them in the pacific?
The Getty Museum is a masterpiece and this collection is very prestigious.
The Getty is just taken a major step forward in terms of the quality of it's collection.
I'm sorry. Just an easy target I guess. I am sure some of them are very nice. But some sculptures would make some nice man-made reefs for the fishies. Here in NYC, it seems like anyone who welds pieces of rusty metal together can call it art and have it displayed on Park Avenue.
I love to wander, with children or without, through rolling, manicured landscapes with fun sculpture to study at various points.
It is too bad that much of the sculpture in these locations are cool, minimalist and rather empty pieces. They definitely look better in the landscape than they might inside. But they are still fun to see and walk around. Some of meaning of these pieces is in the different perspectives of looking at them.
Stark's bequest actually has some more interesting names than plain Minimalist sculpture: such as Henry Moore, Hepworth, and it could be a fine addition to the Getty. I'm not sure if they have the rolling acres for a sculpture garden. I know the first comment about sculpture gardens was sarcastic, but it is actually a good idea.
I think I'm going to have to start an Art Appreciation class on FR.
Have you been to Brookgreen Gardens (near Myrtle Beach, SC)? That's my big favorite. The gardens are beautiful and some of the sculpture is quite remarkable. It was owned by Samuel Huntington and Anna Hyatt Huntington, who was herself a very well known sculptor. There is still an annual competition (for American sculptors only) and the foundation still collects and adds to the garden.
One of the things that wound up there is the fountain/pond that used to be at the Metropolitan Museum before they renovated the cafeteria area, years and years ago.
I think I'm going to have to start an Art Appreciation class on FR.Add me to your list of students.
I'm new to the NYC area (live in northern NJ). What are your NYC recommendations?
I have nothing against man-made reefs. I think they're a great idea. A place where many old cars should end up.
Speaking of dumping statues, that's what happened to a bunch of great old pieces that adorned the original Penn Station before it was torn down (50's? 60's?). All that stuff ended up in the Jersey swamps.
I'll second DeCordova, a very nice place.
How about the Gropius House right down the street? Very neat sitting there in the fields of Lincoln.
I walked through a garden in Venice. It was a house of a famous American woman. Jeez, I cannot remember her name. Her house was turned into a museum. Nice stuff though. I did not knwo that about Penn Station. It could use some art right about now.
Under the presidency of PRR's Stuart T. Saunders (who later headed ill-fated Penn Central Transportation), the above-ground components of this structure (the platforms are below street level) were demolished in 1964, without disrupting the essential day-to-day operations, to make way for present-day Madison Square Garden, along with two office towers.---Penn Station History
Yes, to keep Japanese subs from sneaking up on us.
I enjoy posing with the statues and taking silly pictures.
THAT is a problem. But, in general, sculpture gardens are a little more rounded.
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