This is a magical place. I don't know if there is anything else like it. There are 42 acres of over 800 sculptures that range from ordinary people just sitting there, to famous paintings recreated in sculpture, to notable sculptures by well knowns. The whole experience, as one walks on wending paths, through woods and greenery, past a lake and ponds, is rapturous. As if one were walking through a dream. And as my son, said, "Statues are therapeutic." One wants to hug them. They are friendly in their immobility. They represent our higher nature in some weird spiritual way.
There are several sculptures, like this one, of ordinary people. You want to sit down and read the book with her. In fact, for fun, our family sat on a bench (5 of us) and froze in position. It took awhile to coordinate ourselves, there was coughing and laughing, but once we got settled we actually fooled some people! Great fun!
And then there are the iconic paintings, like this one, "Dejueuner Deja Vu" by Seward Johnson, the founder of the sculpture garden and the main contributor. Imagine stepping into this amazing Impressionist painting.
Redon's Fantasy Of Venus, Seward Johnson.
Of course you can't get more iconic than AMERICAN GOTHIC. Those figures of a man and boy are my son and grandson, temporarily turned into statues!
For me the highlight was this room one could enter for private serenity and contemplation. It was on the other side of The Scream. Because that is the way life is. Yin and Yang, dark and light, both represented at this enchanted place.
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