Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

The Spoonbridge and Cherry take centerstage in the sculpture garden - both physically and metaphorically. Claes Oldenburg (known for constructing oversized pieces of ordinary objects) collaborated with his wife Coosje to design a sculptural and water element for the new sculpture garden. Claes contributed the spoon element while Coosje added the cherry to the spoon and suggested the Linden seed-shaped pond (the sidewalks are lined with Linden trees).

The gigantic 52 foot long spoon (354 x 618 x 162 in.) was constructed of aluminum and stainless steel at two shipbuilding yards in New England - one in Maine and one in Rhode Island. The spoon itself weighs about 5,800 pounds while the cherry weighs a whopping 1,200 pounds. Gift of Frederick R. Weisman in honor of his parents, William and Mary Weisman, 1988.

As expected, the sculpture became the showpiece and beloved icon of the garden. When viewed from the south, the Minneapolis skyline provides the perfect backdrop whether you are there in summer when a gleaming, fine mist flows off the cherry stem or in the winter when the Minnesota snow provides an ice cream looking base.

For more information, visit the Walker Art Center website (source for the winter cherry polaroid too).

steel, paint
height: 456 in.
Gift of Honeywell Inc. in honor of Harriet and Edson W. Spencer, 1991

One of several structures by Mark di Suvero in the sculpture garden, this gigantic red-painted structure is constructed from enormous steel beams that form a three-legged tripod. The legs meet at the center where two large flat disks mark the juncture. It stands over 36 feet tall.

Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1988

The vine-covered arbor and flower garden, loving gifts of the N. Bud Grossman family, commemorate the ideals, achievements, and memory of Alene Lorberbaum Grossman (1922-1988), who harbored a deep love of natural beauty and spent much of her life working for the public good.

In the summer months, this area of the sculpture garden is in full bloom with all kinds of perennials such as rudbeckia, heliopsis, bee's balm, salvia, daylilies, clematis, coneflowers and so much more. As a gardener myself, this is one of my favorite areas to stroll around and to sit on a bench to relax in the sculpture garden.

bronze, marble, limestone
78 x 80 x 118 in. overall
Gift of Jeanne and Richard Levitt, 1988

Judith Shea created three distinct pieces (a rumpled flowing raincoat, the bottom of an Egyptian style molded head, and a couture 1950s style dress) that seem to be carrying on a dialogue about modern life and antiquity.

aluminum, steel, paint
overall 235 x 351 x 351 in.
Gift of Dayton Hudson Corporation, Minneapolis, 1971

This fun structure spins freely in the wind making it difficult to photograph even on days with a gentle breeze. It reminds us Minnesotans of fishing lures.

steel, paint
overall 116 1/2 x 111 x 67 1/4 in.
Gift of the T.B. Walker Foundation, 1968

cast stone, stainless steel, steel, bronze, aluminum, ceramic
height: 202 in.; diameter: 246 in.
Gift of the Lilly family, 1989

Six mock-Egyptian columns support a futuristic dome that is constructed from thousands of flexible wire polyhedrons. Within the wire dome, Brower Hatcher embedded numerous common objects such as a ladder, a chair, random letters and more.

Cor-Ten steel, steel, wood
316 1/2 x 510 x 450 in.
Gift of Judy and Kenneth Dayton, 1985

The name of this sculpture stems from the word arachnid or spider....a creature that creator Mark di Suvero admires for its ability to create structures in space. This monumental sculpture stands more than 26 feet high, 42 feet wide, and weighs about 6,000 lbs. A favorite of kids visiting the garden, this structure has a wooden swing suspended from its center that invites kids and adults alike to take a ride in the gentle breeze.

Clockwise Around Photograph:

Hare on Bell on Portland Stone Piers, 1983
By Barry Flanagan
bronze, limestone
102 x 112 x 75 in. overall
Collection Walker Art Center, Gift of Anne Larsen Simonson and Glen and Marilyn Nelson, 1987
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Prometheus Strangling the Vulture II, 1944/1953
By Jacques Lipchitz
bronze
91-3/4 x 90 x 57 in.
Collection Walker Art Center, Gift of the T.B. Walker Foundation, 1956

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Ordovician Pore, 1989
By Tony Cragg
granite, steel
96 x 90 x 124 in. overall
Gift of Joanne and Philip Von Blon, 1989

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Reclining Mother and Child, 1960-1961
By Henry Moore
bronze
90 x 35 1/2 x 52 in.
Gift of the T. B. Walker Foundation, 1963

bronze
99 x 105 x 74 in.
Gift of Harriet and Edson W. Spencer, 1988

Deborah Butterfield, who rides and trains horses on her Montana ranch created the Woodrow sculpture by casting wood branches, tree bark and straw in bronze and then welding the pieces together. Like many garden goers, my husband and I thought the horse was constructed of driftwood, but much to our surprise, we discovered that it is indeed bronze.