Besthoff Sculpture Garden: An Artful Afternoon in the Sun

With the weather in New Orleans taking a turn for the beautiful, it’s time to get outside and have some non-sweltering, daytime fun. Cue the Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park.

I finally made it out to the Besthoff Sculpture Garden last week, and kicked myself for waiting so long. Spacious, expansive with a great mix of pieces in a great setting. There’s a large pond with spots overlooking it to read or just sit and ponder, if you’re like that, and plenty of green space for a nice layabout in the sun. It’s a great addition for my list of hangout spots.

The sculptures themselves vary greatly in period and purpose, offer a varied take on the medium, and all uniformly fit into the space, despite the visual disparity of an enormous safety-pin looming over a gilded-man straining against the weight of time. There’s also the requisite New Orleans native Blue Dog (who pops up both in yellow and red as well), and the four-colored, square-depiction of the word “Love,” which I always associate with Philadelphia. There’s a good deal of playfulness amongst the pieces, which is probably aided by the sunny atmosphere.

A great, relaxing day from Downtown or the French Quarter would be to take the streetcar all the way from Canal Street, around through Uptown for a breezy windows-down ride, until you get to the end of the line. Bring a book or some friends to pass the time, as it’s a bit of a journey, but once you get there, walk up the promenade to the New Orleans Museum of Art, bear to the left at the rotary, and you’re there. Bring a bottle of wine, plastic cups and some sandwiches for an all-day fun-day. Streetcar ride or not, check out this New Orleans institution. It’s a great excuse to get outside in the park and enjoy the outdoor in the lead-up to Halloween’s nightly excesses.

Tagged as: Besthoff Sculpture Garden, City Park, GoNOLA, New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, NOMA