Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, may be the most delightful experience I have ever had for an afternoon of a delicious lunch in a beautiful outdoor setting and pure delight while walking in a park. Our daughter, who is an artist at heart, gave us this unforgettable experience, a gift for our minds, hearts and senses.
We had reserved a lunch seating time at the onsite Rat’s Restaurant. Managed by Constellation Culinary Group, it is reflective of a French country-style cafe and was named for a “Wind in the Willows” character, “Ratty,” whom Seward Johnson considered to be the perfect host who served the best wines and gave the perfect parties. Rat’s Restaurant is casual but elegant dining at its best, and every bite is delicious. The portions are large enough to share.
Johnson, an artist and philanthropist, started his career as a painter but later turned to sculpture that celebrates the mundane and familiar. For years he has been developing the lovely 42-acre grounds that were formerly the New Jersey State Fairgrounds to create the perfect setting for the 300 sculptures there today. Grounds for Sculpture opened in 1992 and serves as school, galleries and studios. It is the brainchild of the man who had the vision and generosity to create a park filled with a lake, a stream, forests, lush greenery and flowering shrubs. To fully inspire the feeling of the Giverny French countryside for the restaurant, Rat’s faces the scene Claude Monet immortalized in his paintings of the lily-pad pond and footbridge.
Throughout the park sculptures are often reminiscent of an Old Master’s painting. With an artist’s eye for intricate detail, Johnson used some of the same colors and re-created the surrounding scenery to match the backgrounds of their paintings.
In his atelier, Johnson created his sculptures from metal depicting life-sized people. Using the best artists’ techniques, he depicted such well-known artists as Winston Churchill painting the scene in front of him. We were especially touched by the “Sailing on the Seine” sculpture of the man and woman seated in front of their boat.
He invited other artists to create their favorite paintings in sculpture. Each was set in the perfect surroundings to match the paintings. Redon, Manet, Monet and others are now even more revered as visitors can walk into and around the scenes that formerly could only be admired and appreciated when they were framed and hanging on walls.
The park has easy, well-planned walkways. Especially noteworthy are the bamboo forest settings and the various views from around the lake. In taking photographs throughout the park, I walked close to what I thought was a sculpture of a resting woman. Imagine my surprise when she got up and walked away, revealing just how very convincingly realistic all the sculpture scenes are. The couple embracing on the lawn nearby, however, turned out to be sculptures.
Annual shows are presented, and now more than 700 artists have displayed their works. Some of the important new sculptors and artists from many countries have become renowned, and some of their sculptures are acquired for permanent park settings.
The current exhibition, “That’s Worth Celebrating: The Life and Work of the Johnson Family,” will run through December 2024. This artist family appreciated beauty and art and wanted to share their passion with the community as well as focus on teaching and encouraging aspiring artists and sculptors at the Seward Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture.
To fully enjoy a visit to the Grounds for Sculpture requires good walking shoes, outdoor clothing and an entire day. We had only three hours and did not even get to cover all of the outdoor scenes, let alone the four indoor galleries where emerging artists learn to create and present their works. Be sure to book ahead for a timed lunch reservation, which also provides a reduced price of admission to the gardens.
