Storm King Art Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Storm King Art Center |
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| Location | Mountainville, New York, US |
| Created | 1960 |
Storm King Art Center, often called Storm King, is a cool outdoor museum in New Windsor, New York. It's named after the nearby Storm King Mountain. It has one of the biggest collections of modern outdoor sculptures in the whole United States.
The center started in 1960. It was founded by Ralph E. Ogden. At first, it showed paintings. But soon, it became famous for its amazing sculptures by top artists from the 1900s. The park is huge, covering about 500 acres (200 ha; 0.78 sq mi). It's about an hour's drive north of Manhattan.
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How Storm King Started
In 1958, a man named Ralph E. Ogden bought a large piece of land. It was 180 acres in Mountainville, New York. In 1960, he opened this land to the public. He called it Storm King Art Center. He displayed some small sculptures he had bought in Europe.
In 1967, the collection grew. Ogden added 13 pieces by a sculptor named David Smith. At first, the sculptures were near the main building. Over time, the collection expanded into the beautiful outdoor landscape.
The land and main house were redesigned. This was done by William Rutherford and his wife Joyce. Later, Peter Stern, who was Ogden's business partner, took over. He became the center's chairman. David Collins also helped as the center's director. Peter Stern continued to run Storm King after Ogden passed away in 1974. He added many of the most famous artworks you see there today.
Saving Giant Sculptures
In 1975, five huge sculptures by Mark di Suvero were on display. They were at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. They were going to be taken apart and stored away. But Peter Stern had a great idea! He asked the artist if Storm King could display them. Now, these amazing sculptures are a big part of the South Fields at Storm King.
Throughout the late 1900s, Storm King kept adding to its permanent collection. It also showed artworks from other museums. For example, the Museum of Modern Art loaned four sculptures to Storm King for a year. This happened in 1982 when their own sculpture garden was being fixed.
In 1985, Storm King celebrated its 25th anniversary. The Star Expansion Company gave the center two more pieces of land. One was 2,300 acres (930 ha; 3.6 sq mi) on nearby Schunnemunk Mountain. This mountain is a beautiful background for many of the huge sculptures. The other was a 100-acre (40 ha; 0.16 sq mi) farm next to the center. This land has been used for new additions to the collection.
Amazing Art Collection
Storm King has many artworks by famous modern artists. These include:
- Alexander Calder
- David Smith
- Mark di Suvero
- Henry Moore
- Douglas Abdell
- Isamu Noguchi
- Richard Serra
- Louise Nevelson
It also has large sculptures by artists working today, such as:
- Magdalena Abakanowicz
- Alice Aycock
- Andy Goldsworthy
- Alexander Liberman
- Sol LeWitt
- Martin Puryear
- Roy Lichtenstein
One of the newer artworks is Storm King Wavefield (2009) by Maya Lin. It's made of seven long rows of wavy land forms. It looks like giant ocean waves frozen in the grass!
Exploring the Grounds
The huge artworks are placed all over the grounds. There are four main areas to explore:
- The North Woods: A wooded area in the northeast part of the property.
- Museum Hill: A high spot on the east side. It offers great views of the land and sculptures around it.
- The Meadows: This includes the western edge of the park and its entrance.
- The South Fields: A big open space in the southwest part of the center.
The landscape at Storm King Art Center has been specially shaped. The grounds were changed for each new large artwork. This was especially true for artworks made specifically for that spot. For example, the plateau where the museum building now stands was once dug up by bulldozers in the 1950s. It had to be rebuilt when the art center was created.
Storm King Art Center offers fun activities for visitors. You can rent bicycles to ride around the park. They also have guided trolley rides to see the art.
Influence on Other Parks
A collector named Alan Gibbs said Storm King inspired him. He created Gibbs Farm, his own private outdoor sculpture museum in New Zealand.
See also
- List of sculpture parks
