Admission Prices
Adults: $12
Senior (65+): $10
Children (6-17): $8
Members and Children (5 and under): free
Accessibility
The Museum Building is fully accessible on the ground floor. A "Patron’s Guide" illustrating artworks installed on the small mezzanine is available at the Museum’s reception desk. The Visitor Center and the Domestic Arts Building are fully accessible. Accessible walkways allow for access to the 35-acre, landscaped sculpture park.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre public sculpture park located in Hamilton, NJ, minutes from Princeton and just one hour from NY and Philadelphia. It was founded in 1992 on the site of the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds by J. Seward Johnson to promote an understanding and appreciation of contemporary sculpture. Visitors to the park can enjoy the outdoor permanent collection, indoor seasonal exhibitions, and learn about contemporary sculpture through a variety of educational programs including workshops for adults and children, artist residencies and lectures, tours for adults, schoolchildren, toddlers, and touch tours for the blind. The park also offers various festivals, concerts and performances, a 42-acre arboretum, shopping, and dining options--including the stunning and delicious Zagat-rated fine dining destination, Rat's Restaurant. In 2010, over 147,000 people visited Grounds For Sculpture.
History of Grounds For Sculpture
In 1984, J. Seward Johnson, sculptor and philanthropist, envisioned a public sculpture garden and museum in Hamilton, NJ. His desire was to make contemporary sculpture as an art form more accessible and to offer people from all backgrounds the opportunity to become comfortable with contemporary art. Grounds For Sculpture was conceived as a place where audiences could experience sculpture in a familiar, accessible, and informal setting.
Construction on the sculpture park began in 1989 on the site of the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds; Grounds For Sculpture opened to the general public in 1992. Since its inception, the park has built a collection of over 240 works, including sculptures by renowned artists Clement Meadmore, Anthony Caro, Beverly Pepper, Kiki Smith, and New Jersey sculptor George Segal. Some of the works in the collection were commissioned specifically for the sculpture park, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Space of Stone and New Jersey artist Isaac Witkin’s Garden State. Work on the park and sculpture acquisitions were financed by public tax-exempt bonds and private foundations associated with founder J. Seward Johnson.
Since 2000, Grounds For Sculpture is a public not-for-profit corporation with a Board of Trustees overseeing the successful operation of New Jersey’s foremost sculpture park and museum. As a not-for-profit and public institution, Grounds For Sculpture relies on the support of visitors, art patrons, donations and grants to offer its rich programs and activities each year.
Mission
Grounds For Sculpture was established in 1992 to promote an understanding of and appreciation for contemporary sculpture for all people by:
- maintaining a 35-acre sculpture park composed of works by well-known and emerging American and international artists in Hamilton, NJ
- organizing accessible exhibitions; and interpreting these exhibitions through publications, lectures, workshops and other educational programs.
- In accordance with its mission, Grounds For Sculpture presents visitors with an evolving permanent outdoor collection, seasonal exhibitions, and educational programs designed to facilitate the understanding of and appreciation for contemporary sculpture.
Dining
- Rat’s Restaurant
Grounds For Sculpture’s fine dining destination, serves gourmet cuisine in an atmosphere of casual elegance.
- The Peacock Café at Grounds For Sculpture, is located in the Domestic Arts Building. The self-service café offers a casual lunch menu for dining indoors or outside in the courtyard.
- The Gazebo is open during the warmer months of the year. Overlooking the water lily pond and surrounded by willow trees, it offers a beautiful, tranquil setting to enjoy a beverage or light snack. Hours are weather permitting.
Cautionary Statement
The collection and exhibits at Grounds For Sculpture contain art works that may be of a challenging, sensitive and/or mature nature. Please be aware and consult GFS staff for advice if you have concerns in those regards.
The curatorial focus of Grounds For Sculpture is to present the work of both established and emerging sculptors. Emerging sculptors are defined as artists at the beginning of their careers as well as artists whose work has contributed to the field of contemporary sculpture significantly without accompanying recognition. The outdoor exhibition grows by approximately 15 sculptures annually. New additions outdoors are selected to augment indoor exhibitions, to add new artists to the sculpture park, and to work in conjunction with the landscaped environment.
Most of the sculptures on exhibit outdoors are displayed courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc., a charitable foundation that collects works of art by American and international artists. The Foundation supports Grounds For Sculpture by lending works for exhibit in the park. Sculptures in a variety of styles and media, including bronze, steel, stone, wood, concrete and mixed media are represented.
