Storm King Art Center

Jay Gotlieb

A short jaunt up from the bustle of New York Citysits a starkly picturesque escape, where rolling

green hills contain large-scale outdoor sculpturescreated by the masters of the medium. Spanningaround 500 acres, the Storm King Art Center is a

must see for any Manhattanite or really any visitorto the Hudson Valley.

Storm King is a keenly unique space, where thelush landscape conceals and reveals massive yetunderstated pieces of art. The art seems at once

supplanted and completely logical as if the hulkingmetal forms were created by some form of life long

extinct. Just take a look at some of the photos inthis post to get a sense of the odd beauty of the

space.

Storm King Art Center, known mostly as simplyStorm King, is an open air museum. Described

simply, it’s a collection of open fields with largesculptures dropped in every so often. Storm Kingwas created in 1960 by a successful businessman

named Ralph E. Ogden.

He purchased the land in Mountainville, New York(about a one-hour drive from Manhattan) and usedthe space to showcase several small sculptures hehad acquired in Europe. After several years and a

major acquisition of work from acclaimedAmerican sculpture David Smith, the space wasopened to the public and its reputation began to

grow. Storm King is now perhaps the largestcollection of contemporary outdoor sculptures in

the world.

Another notable acquisition is when, in 1975, fivemassive pieces by Mark di Suvero were brought toStorm King after being on display at the Whitney

Museum of American Art. Ogen’s business partnerand then chairman and president of the center

asked the artist personally to bring the sculpturesto Storm King, rather than having them be

dismantled and put into storage.

More and more acquisitions lead to more spacebeing needed, and in 1985, the original 250 acreswere expanded greatly. In addition to expandingthe actual site, a massive 2,300-acre chunk of the

Schunnemunk Mountains were donated topreserve the backdrop of the site’s monumental

sculptures. The surrounding pristine area isfundamental to the escapism of the space.

While there are several membership programs,admission is free to the public during the summer

months.