A Garden of Sculpture

I was sorry to read in the papers a last week that Seward Johnson had passed away. His name may not be familiar to some, but here in New Jersey, where he was born, we remember him fondly. Mr Johnson was lucky enough to be heir to the Johnson Pharmaceutical fortune but more than that, he was an amazing artist who created hundreds of works of art. He was also founder of a lovely place, not 45 minutes from my home, called Grounds for Sculpture.

Grounds for Sculpture, opened in 1992, is a magical place in Hamilton, New Jersey, not too far from Trenton. Beyond the vine covered walls you will find 42 acres of gardens and rolling hills featuring hundreds of Seward Johnson’s works along with those of other local artist. The park is filled with meandering paths, beautiful landscaping and surprises around every corner. Some of the pieces there belong to Johnson’s Monumental Scale collection, towering statues 20 feet tall, as well as many of his Beyond the Frame vignettes where the visitor can step inside famous Impressionist paintings. These are among my favorites along with his Celebrating the Familiar series. Several inside exhibits and restaurants are also on site. Miss Dee and I visited there in late August, our last outing of the summer break. Here are just a few of the lovely things we saw.

“A Turn of the Century” from the Monumental Scale collection, inspired by Renoir. This piece is about 20 feet tall and stands in front of Rat’s, one of the gardens artistic eateries..

“God Bless America” also larger than life! Obviously inspired by American Gothic.

Miss Dee getting to know one of the ladies in the Celebrating the Familiar series. This one is called “Captured”

A piece called “Summer Thinking” There is actually writing in the journal!

Here I have stepped into one of the vignettes called “Family Secret” from the Beyond the Frame series

So many lovely and peaceful pathways

Another Beyond the Frame vignettes sits at the edge of one of the property’s lakes. This one is called “Sailing the Seine”

“Daydream” a massive sculpture that can actually be seen from the road as you drive by the gardens

A Japanese inspired garden near the snack bar

Another Impressionist inspired piece “If It Were Time”

A fantasy in light and metal called “Fan”

A Van Gogh inspired room.

We made friends with this lovely lady at one of the inside exhibits. She is part of the Icons Revisited series

Even the Cafe where we had lunch was a work of art.

We had such a wonderful time exploring Grounds for Sculpture. We’ve already made plans to go again because our feet gave out before we saw even half of the many pieces on display. I think the Fall would be a great time to go back. Every season in fact, will add something new. Seward Johnson, in his 89 years on Earth, certainly added a great deal of beauty to the world.

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