Photography as noted

Grounds for Sculpture offers amazing views of modern art against a beautiful backdrop of woods, gardens, and fountains.

Approaching the Grounds for Sculpture park and museum in Hamilton, New Jersey, is like passing through a storybook or tumbling into Alice’s rabbit hole. Along the way, you might pass colorful shapes emerging from the earth, giant figures stretching high above you, and even ordinary people just going about their day—were they not made of stone.

These fanciful shapes and figures are the brainchild of the late sculptor Seward Johnson (aka John Seward Johnson II) of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical family. In 1992, he founded the forty-two-acre sculpture park, a welcoming place for those who love art or are looking for a pleasant escape from everyday life. As you meander the ground’s peaceful trails, woods, and gardens, you’ll be greeted by sculptures at every turn. The park is home to the works of 150 artists, including Johnson, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Bruce Beasley, Carlos Dorrien, Philip Grausman, and George Segal.

Unlike art housed in typical museums, the masterpieces here aren’t designed to be viewed from a safe, respectable distance. Instead, they are meant to be experienced up close. You can snap an angst-filled selfie against Johnson’s colorful three-dimensional rendition of Edvard Munch’s The Scream or tread carefully within The Awakening, a seventy-foot-long metal sculpture of a giant struggling to free himself from the earth. You could also wait quietly with the somber men in Segal’s life-sized bronze work, Depression Breadline.

Monumental sculptures

As you venture deeper into the property, you’ll notice that Grounds for Sculpture expertly takes art to new heights—many of its works are vast in size, with some topping two stories or more. It can be a monumental task to pick favorites here, but towering pieces like Johnson’s Daydream, inspired by Henri Matisse’s oil painting The Dance, command attention. This sparkling ensemble replicates the easy, fluid movement of Matisse’s dancers while also casting its image onto a dappled pond in the park’s meadow.

Another example is Abakanowicz’s stark Space of Stone, carved from gray-and-black granite, which has a foreboding quality and is reminiscent of Stonehenge or a super-sized chess board. Other must-see sculptures include Johnson’s fourteen-feet-tall God Bless America, which brings to life Grant Wood’s iconic American Gothic painting, and Carlos Dorrien’s massive The Nine Muses, a seven-year labor of love that sits almost magically above a water lily-filled pool and brings to mind ancient Greek ruins.

Immerse yourself in nature

It’s easy to forget that Grounds for Sculpture is firmly ensconced in suburbia, especially since its magnificent creations beautifully coexist with its surroundings. For instance, Grausman’s Leucantha emerges from a quiet, mist-shrouded pond, and Johnson’s If It Were Time is blissfully set against the lake’s sparkling waters, making it resemble the seaside resort that Monet skillfully portrays in his painting Garden at Sainte-Adresse.

In fact, because the art pieces are so well intertwined with their natural surroundings, you may enjoy a different experience each time you visit, depending on the season. In fall, you can look up at the dazzling autumn foliage while walking through the Red Maple Allée, which is flanked on either side by delicate Japanese maple trees. Isaac Witkin’s Garden State looks especially stark against the cold, white snow of winter, while in spring and summer, the property’s lake, reflecting pools, and wildflower meadow are perfect places for communing with Mother Nature.

Endless offerings

Even when the weather is less than perfect, you can still enjoy Grounds for Sculpture’s indoor galleries and revolving art exhibitions. For instance, Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits offers an insightful look at New Jersey’s Asian-Indian community through oral, audio, and visual presentations gathered by artist and journalist Madhusmita Bora. In addition, Spiral Q: The Parade highlights the art and work of Philadelphia-based Spiral Q, an organization that encourages social change through the creative use of puppets. Both exhibits belong to the sculpture park and museum’s Perspectives series, which runs through January 7, 2024. And if that weren’t enough, Grounds for Sculpture also offers children’s programs, exercise and wellness classes, lectures, workshops, and concerts throughout the year.

Finally, you can savor French gourmet cuisine without crossing the Atlantic at the park’s upscale eatery, Rat’s Restaurant. While dining there, you can delight in waterside views designed by Seward that are incredibly reminiscent of Monet’s famous lily pond in Giverny, France.

No matter what time of year you visit, Grounds for Sculpture offers an intriguing mix of art and nature that will make your experience unforgettable.

For more info, visit groundsforsculpture.org