Exhibition Details
Since opening in 1939, the Museum’s sculpture garden has served as an oasis in the city (as a press release declared), offering visitors respite from the frenzy of Midtown Manhattan. The garden was initially envisioned as an informal space for changing installations that united nature, architecture, and art.
In 1953, architect Philip Johnson was commissioned to redesign it; he introduced four distinct marble-paved areas for displaying sculpture alongside shallow rectangular pools, trees, and seasonal plants. At that time, it was renamed the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden in memory of one of the Museum’s three founders
In 1953, architect Philip Johnson was commissioned to redesign it; he introduced four distinct marble-paved areas for displaying sculpture alongside shallow rectangular pools, trees, and seasonal plants. At that time, it was renamed the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden in memory of one of the Museum’s three founders
Additional Details
Oasis in the City brings together a variety of works that explore figurative and abstract forms, spanning the late 19th century to the present.
Returning to the garden for the first time in more than 50 years is a monumental sculpture from 1968 by Jean Dubuffet. It joins works such as Auguste Rodin’s St. John the Baptist Preaching (1878–80) and Henry Moore’s Family Group (1948–49), as well as more recent additions, such as Lynda Benglis’s Double Fountain, Mother and Child (2007).
Returning to the garden for the first time in more than 50 years is a monumental sculpture from 1968 by Jean Dubuffet. It joins works such as Auguste Rodin’s St. John the Baptist Preaching (1878–80) and Henry Moore’s Family Group (1948–49), as well as more recent additions, such as Lynda Benglis’s Double Fountain, Mother and Child (2007).
Location
MoMA
Floor 6
11 West 53 Street, Manhattan
New York, NY 10019
Image: Installation view of the exhibition Oasis in the City. Photo by Jonathan Dorado. Shown: Jean Dubuffet. Study for Tower with Figures. 1968. / courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.