When you need an escape from chaotic New York City I would suggest going to Storm King. This is an amazing 500-acre outdoor sculpture garden, just one hour and a half from New York. You just need to take the Metro-North train from Grand Central Terminal to Beacon. Make sure you get the seat near the window for a magnificent view of the Hudson River. Once you arrive in Beacon you will need to take a taxi or an uber to get to Storm King, it will take you approximately 20-30minutes to get there.
When you arrive at Storm King the size of this open-air museum just takes your breath away. More than 100 carefully sited sculptures are just waiting to be seen. When you are walking around it’s like walking in a painting…blue sky melting with green grass and magnificent sculptures, mostly in vivid colors. And the thing that you were looking for since you wanted to escape New York City…the silence with some birds singing. It’s like being in a different world, but you are just one hour and a half from NYC.
The creation of Storm King Art
In early 1958, a successful hardware mogul Ralph E. Ogden purchased what would soon become Storm King Art Center. In 1960 he opened his property to the public in began the collection with a number of small sculptures he had acquired in Europe. In 1976 he bought 13 pieces from sculptor David Smith and the collection in Storm King got quite big.
At the beginning the sculptures where just around the main building, but the collection was just getting bigger and bigger so they had to expand the exhibition out into the landscape, of which the sculpture became an important part. And they created the Storm King as we can see it today…a landscape full of magnificent sculptures.
Collaboration with New York modern art
In 1975, came out the news that five monumental artworks by Mark Di Suvero were meant to be dismantled after they were exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Fortunately Peter Stern, the president of Storm King Art Center at that time, asked the artist if the sculptures could be displayed at Storm King. The pieces are still today the center’s core collection.
The Center continues to collaborate with the biggest Museums of New York. So it happens that the Museum of Modern Art loaned to the center some pieces for the exhibition.
The Storm King Art Center collection was increasing passing the years. So from the original 250 acres of land, the open door museum increased to 500 acres.
So take the train and go visit Storm King Art Center. Walking around in this green museum full of modern art will just refill your batteries.
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