Kansas City's Sculpture Garden: Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Tour)

1. Introduction to the tour

Click the audio link for a short introduction to the sculpture garden from Clio founder and Kansas City historian David Trowbridge.

2. Standing Figures (Thirty Figures)

This bronze work by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz was created over a four year span from 1994 to 1998. The artist witnessed the violence of the Nazi invasion of her home country as a girl, leading some to believe that the thirty headless figures may be victims. The piece is certainly haunting by most interpretations, but others notice the unique qualities of each figure and feel that the piece speaks to human individuality. After its dedication, the artist expressed her hope that viewers would consider multiple interpretations and possibilities. Each of the thirty bronze figures began with a cast from a burlap-lined body mold. Other works by Abakanowicz can be seen throughout leading cities of the United States and central Europe, as well as many private collections. The work is a gift from the Hall Family Foundation which supports education and the arts in Kansas City and the region.

3. North Lawn Shuttlecock

A gift of the Sosland Family, this is one of four 18-foot shuttlecocks that have graced the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins since their installation in 1994. At the time, opinions varied widely about the artistic value and even the propriety of "scattering four birdies" on the lawn of a museum that featured a vast collection of classical works. While some of the city's most influential residents denied the artistical value and suggested that the aluminum and fiberglass-reinforced plastic works were not worthy of inclusion within a museum dedicated to art, others embraced the whimsical imagination of husband and wife artistical team of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The pair imagined the vast lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum as a badminton court divided by the neoclassical building much as a net separates a court. Each of the shuttlecocks weigh 5,500 pounds. Over the years, the four shuttlecocks have become a beloved symbol of the museum and the city.

4. Totem Pole (1977-2024)

This sculpture was commissioned by the museum to be a centerpiece of their 1977 exhibition "Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art." The work was completed by artists Kenny Mowatt and Charles Heit and depicts the symbol of Kansas City in the claws of the raven at the top. The three figures around the base of the work are meant to depict the mayor of Kansas City at the time along with the patron and art museum director who commissioned the work. The work was removed between late 2023 and early 2024 for reasons that have not yet been disclosed by the museum.

5. Two Planes Vertical-Horizontal

Dedicated in 1968, this kinetic sculpture by George Rickey was designed with an intricate system of bearings and counterweights so that it could move with the wind. This theme of balance and movement is present throughout many of Rickey's works, and this sculpture which was a gift to the museum from the Sosland family reflects the artist's background as both an engineer and an artist. Kansas City was home to the first of four similar sculptures by Rickey that can now be seen in New York, Seattle, and on the Princeton campus in New Jersey. A gift to Kansas City from the Sosland Family, Similar to other works by Rickey, the kinetic sculpture balances not just two planes, but the mathematical precision of an engineer and the unpredictability of the wind. For some, the work is a representation of the need for balance between forces we can predict that keep the two planes balanced, and those we cannot such as the wind that causes the planes to move.

6. Relief No. 1

Completed in 1959, this freestanding mezzo relief is considered a rare form by Henry Moore as it contrasts his preference to sculpt in the round. Though ambiguous, Relief No. 1 depicts the three major divisions of a human body - the head, the torso, and the legs. The undulating arrangement of shapes suggest a female form, while the emphasis on the recessions and projections evoke a forceful quality, unlike the pictorial narrative of a traditional relief. The intentionally incomplete, seven-foot bronze figure appears to be leaning or stepping forward through the implication of its tilted shoulders and extended right leg. In order to cast Relief No. 1, the plaster mold was cut into four sections. The finished bronze pieces were then welded together, in which the seams on the front were filed down, though are still visible on the back.

7. Rodin's Thinker

One of over two dozen bronze casts of Rodin's Thinker, this work in within the Hall Sculpture Garden was likely cast in 1949, forty-five years after the artist's work was first cast in bronze. That first cast was based on Rodin's 1880 work that was originally conceived as a portrait of the poet Dante. The first cast (1904) is on display at Musée Rodin, in Paris.Kansas City's version of Rodin's Thinker was made possible through the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners and a gift of Grant I. and Mathilde Rosenzweig.

8. Three Part Object, Torso, and Shuttlecock

The southwest terrace of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art features three works, one of four iconic Shuttlecocks (1994) by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen and two bronze sculptures by Henry Moore, Torso (1967) and Three Part Object (1960). The two bronze Moore pieces seen here were gifted to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art by the Hall Family Foundation. English artist Henry Moore is best known for his sculptures using human form. As an artist who grew up in the countryside of Yorkshire and lived his adult life in rural Hertfordshire, he was also inspired by the landscape and often used references of nature in his work. Into the 60s, he started experimenting with more abstract, ambiguous forms. While some of these forms are more compact and dense in silhouette, they still exhibit a sense of movement which was more distinct in his previous works. Moore described the progression of his work as, “becoming less representational, less outwardly a visual copy, and so what some people would call more abstract; but only because in this way I can present the human psychological context of my work with the greatest clearness and intensity.”

9. Peace on Earth, The Large Bather, Bas-Relief Woman, Return of the Prodigal Son, and Untitled

This tour stop combines five works which are all situated in the courtyard at the southeast corner of the museum building. First, Peace on Earth by Jacques Lipchitz (1969) is a spiritual work inspired by the rediscovery of Judaism after the artist fled Paris during WWII. Just north a few feet, the next sculpture is The Large Bather by Pierre Auguste Renoir (1917-18), who played a critical role in French Impressionism as a painter but did not start sculpting until his last few years of life. Located on the museum’s south wall, Bas Relief Woman by Gaston Lachaise (1934) reveres the artist's wife, love of his life, and life-long muse, Isabel, as a strong and confident woman. Looking left, Return of the Prodigal Son is a second sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz (1931) which depicts an emotional embrace between two abstract figures. The final work in this courtyard is a minimalistic human form in motion, called Untitled by Joel Shapiro (1991).

10. Storage

Created in 1999 by trained fashion designer and artist Judith Shea, Storage is a group of five bronze forms that reflect the artists interest in figuration and textiles. Her early work of flat, minimalistic clothing patterns developed into more figurative work, with molds of draped clothing in human form. Working in life-scale, the bodiless clothing takes on the shape of a human form, evoking presence through absence. The forms of Storage include a barefoot woman in a sheath dress and an empty overcoat, which have been a recurrent theme in Shea’s work since 1981, as well as a headless woman, a lower trunk, and a skirt on a geometric column.

11. Walking Wall

Constructed, deconstructed, moved, and reconstructed again in five stages under the direction of artist Andy Goldsworthy, this wall of Flint Hills limestone "moved" from a five-acre parcel of land east of the Nelson-Atkins Museum to its current location in the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park and Block Building between March 6th and December 5th, 2019. The herculean effort included a stage where Rockhill Road was blocked for several weeks as area residents watched the artist and his team of experienced wall builders carefully balanced each stone without the use of mortar. The process brought the artist's long-held dream inspired by the poem Wall by poet Norman Nicholson. Nicholson's poem ends with the lines: "They built a wall slowly, A day a week; Built it to stand, But not stand still. They built a wall to walk." Goldsworthy explained that he reflected on this poem in relation to a 1989 wall he built in Scotland and a second wall project in Cumbria, England that both featured community cooperation. The artist shared his idea of building and unbuilding a wall in phases for many years before receiving an invitation and funding to make this project a reality in Kansas City.

12. Reclining Figure: Hand

Sculpted in 1979 by Henry Moore, Reclining Figure: Hand is one of hundreds of variations of the artist's most used forms. Here, the female figure’s arms and hands coalesce into the body of the form while the varying, curvaceous surface entices a tactile desire. Inspired much by the powerful and symbolic use by Rodin and Michelangelo, the hand has been emphasized throughout Moore’s career in both sculpture and drawing. Reclining Figure: Hand was a gift of the Hall Family Foundation.

13. Three Way Piece No. 1: Points

World renowned artist Henry Moore first concepted the six-foot bronze sculpture Three-Way Piece No. 1: Points in a three-inch plaster maquette. With much of Moore's creative influence stemming from a collection of natural objects found on the grounds of his estate in Hertfordshire, England, a pointed pebble fragment was the inspiration for Three-Way Piece No. 1: Points. Cast in 1964-65, the smooth, bulbous shape takes on an organic, biomorphic form while sharp edges and protrusions create asymmetry, provoking a tactile experience. In addition, Moore intentionally sculpted the form so that it could be rotated while on display to encourage multiple viewpoints, but the final piece was too large and heavy so it was placed resting on its three points.

14. Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 9

The juxtaposition of the two figural shapes in this bronze sculpture creates the appearance of a reclining human figure, a common form seen in Henry Moore's work. Created in 1968, Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 9 was the ninth of this two-piece series but the first in which the two pieces are touching. The eight-foot long sculpture retains the form of Moore’s typical reclining figure as the two separate pieces come together to form one entity, yet offer opposing characteristics. Likely inspired by a bone fragment from his studio, the vertical, upper body is curvaceous and smooth, while the horizontal leg piece is more rigid with fine lines that give the form texture.

15. Upright Motive No. 9

Created in 1979 by Henry Moore, Upright Motive No. 9 depicts an abstract female figure and resembles a Native American totem pole. The series of Upright Motives was first concepted in the mid-1950s and took influence from the British sculptor’s admiration for non-Western art. Often documenting his work and ideals, Moore acknowledged in an early journal that he must “Keep ever prominent the world tradition; the big view of sculpture,” as he experienced conflicting ideals with the traditional European art he had studied at Royal College and other cultural art he viewed on exhibit at the British Museum. Much of Moore’s work took on characteristics of ancient and indigenous art forms, including his most common form of the Reclining Figure. Upright No. 9 was a gift of the Hall Family Foundation.

16. Seated Woman

Part of a larger series, Seated Woman was created by Henry Moore between 1958 and 1959 but not cast in bronze until 1975. Often conveying the archetype of the “Great Mother” and using a mature female form, Moore describes his robust figures as a symbol of strength. This Seated Woman has recognizable but disfigured human qualities and is a rather simplified, cubist form with a flat back, small head, blunted appendages, and a bulbous skirt. The surface texture was created using a trowel on the wet plaster, reminiscent of the strokes Moore used to massage his mothers back as she suffered from rheumatism.

17. Theis Park

The green space south of the Nelson-Atkins sculpture garden was part of the vast estate of newspaper publisher William Rockhill Nelson at the turn of the century. Now a public park named in honor of Kansas City grain merchant Frank A. Theis, this vast green space was part of a planned civic improvement plan in the mid-20th century that would create an outdoor space that combined the art museums to the north with the University of Kansas City (now UMKC) and other leading institutions that form the Plaza District and midtown area. Theis was a leader of several civic groups and served as the president of Kansas City's Board of Park Commissioners from 1952 to 1965. The park included featured a fountain that honored one of the city's leading philanthropists, William Volker, until that fountain was moved just south of Brush Creek.

18. Glass Labyrinth

Kansas City native and pioneer in Minimalism, Robert Morris was commissioned to create this interactive work for the 25th anniversary of the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park. Installed in 2014, Glass Labyrinth is a 62-foot long glass-walled, triangle labyrinth that allows visitors to experience the artwork from both inside and out. The walls are composed of 1-inch thick glass that is capped in a bronze rail, weighing in at 400 tons and resting on a base made of blue stone pavers. As a true labyrinth, a single continuous path leads to the center, in which the explorer must turn around and return to the starting point to exit. Throughout his career, Morris created art that allowed viewers to question, explore, and have a relationship with his work.

19. Sheep Piece

While gazing out the studio window at his rural estate Hoglands, Henry Moore became roused by nearby grazing sheep. Inspired by the strength and protection of his own mother, Moore commonly used the concept of mother and child, as seen in Sheep Piece. He began drawing the sheep during lambing season, designing the sculpture with two ambiguous forms gently touching. Though they are large and boulder-like, the closeness of the figures evoke an affinity, perhaps leaning on one another for support. Moore used the rolling landscape at Hoglands to display his sculptures and lived there until his death. The estate is now home to the Henry Moore Foundation and many of Moore's sculptures, including the original cast of Sheep Piece as it remains where he originally sited it with grazing sheep roaming about. One of only three casts (1971-72), this sculpture at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is on loan from the Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners.

20. Ferment

Weighing in at 9 tons, Roxy Paine’s Ferment took more than two weeks to install at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The 56-foot tall, stainless steel sculpture was created in Paine’s New York studio using cylindrical pipes and rods, then delivered in pieces and welded together on site. Taking from the literal definition of ferment, Paine tried to “create a churning, swirling force” within the 35-foot span of branches. Classified as a dendroid, the polished, twisted branches of Ferment capture the juxtaposition of industry and nature, instigating thought amongst its viewers. A gift of the Hall Family Foundation in honor of art consultant Martin Friedman’s retirement, Ferment was installed in April 2011.

21. Large Torso: Arch

Cast in 1963, Large Torso: Arch by Henry Moore depicts a hollow, skeletal structure in the form of an arch. Moore created the silhouette based on the bone structure of the tensed shoulders of a male torso, and the work's monumental size and overall shape seem to echo Stonehenge, a formation for which Moore had a special appreciation. Though his signature motifs are that of mother and child and reclining figures, the concept of Large Torso: Arch can be seen in Moore's work as early as 1932 through his drawing Ideas for Sculpture: Transformation of Bones. From an early age, Moore was inspired by Rodin’s “complete understanding of the body’s internal structure” and became fascinated with the human figure. After moving to a rural farmhouse in 1940, Moore began to explore the analogies between the body and landscape, later creating his larger sculptures to be displayed outdoors. This bronze is one of seven editions by Moore and was gifted by the Hall Family Foundation.

22. Reclining Connected Forms

Best known for his abstract variations of Reclining Figure, English artist Henry Moore created this bronze sculpture in 1969. The sixth in an edition of nine, Reclining Connected Forms offers a balance of positive and negative space as the outer form embraces the interior form. The work is reminiscent of his signature motif of mother and child, though the title lends the piece to a variety of interpretations. During the time this piece was concepted, Moore was experimenting with the placement of openings, allowing viewers to experience the pieces from multiple angles while also letting light cast through. Working in a variety of mediums, Moore created more than 1,000 sculptures throughout his career, as well as a multitude of drawings and other graphics. Reclining Connected Forms was gifted from the Hall Family Foundation and is one of many Henry Moore sculptures at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

23. Three Bowls

German-born American artist Ursula von Rydingsvard created Three Bowls in 1990, using 4-by-4 cedar beams. Rather than sketching her designs, von Rydingsvard cuts the individual beams freehand with a circular saw then stacks and glues the pieces together, creating an irregular, organic quality. She then adds a mixture of graphite and linseed oil after assembly, then lightly scrubs the surface with steel wool to achieve a distressed texture and unique finish while also protecting the wood. The monolithic presence and utilitarian nature of the interlocking sculptures of Three Bowls is perhaps a connection to the ancestral history of von Rydingsvard’s family of Polish farmers, in which she often uses as inspiration for her work. Three Bowls was purchased by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in 1999 from Galerie Lelong in New York.

24. Turbo and Ferryman

Exhibited together, Turbo and Ferryman are two bronze works by world-renowned, contemporary sculptor Tony Cragg. Using sculpture to evoke emotion, Cragg challenges peoples’ relationships with the material world. Turbo is an irregular-shaped spherical form that rests on a tilted axis. The 5 and a half foot figure creates a sense of motion with what appears to be multiple rounded disks of a turbine engine whirling out of phase, creating two top-like shapes joined together at the center. Ferryman is an 8 foot by 5 foot biomorphic structure with several appendage-like forms. Its monumental size contradicts the gentle appearance of its perforated material. Through the generosity of the Hall Family Foundation, the sculptures were purchased in 2001 by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art from the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York.

25. Tom’s Cubicle

Created by internationally renowned and third generation sculptor Alexander Calder, Tom’s Cubicle is named after Tom Messer, who was the Director of New York's Guggenheim Museum at the time of the sculpture’s international exhibition in 1967. It is a large, whimsical piece of work constructed of painted steel plates fastened together with nuts and bolts. Calder is best known for his work using motion and movement, as well as his monumental, abstractly engineered sculptures, deemed as mobile’s and stabile’s respectively. Throughout his life, he has also worked with wood and smaller metal pieces, in addition to sketching and painting in his early career. Other work from Calder has been featured at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and can be found throughout the world, in five of the seven continents. Tom’s Cubicle was gifted to The Nelson by Friends of Art in 1969.

26. Rumi

This 4-ton steel sculpture was created in 1991 by internationally renowned and award winning sculptor Mark di Suvero, who has been a lifelong advocate for public art. Inspired by writings of its namesake, poet Jala al-Din Rumi, the sculpture's dynamic shape represents movements from dances used during Sufi worship. Its construction is of steel I-beams and was painted orange to symbolize the Golden Gate Bridge. Rumi was gifted to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art from the Hall Family Foundation in 1999. Other works by di Suvero can be seen in museums and public collections throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

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Kansas City's Sculpture Garden: Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

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