by Bonnie and Bill Neely
Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, is perhaps the most delightful experience I have ever had for an afternoon of a delicious lunch in beautiful outdoor setting and pure delight while walking in a park! Since I have a four-decade career as a travel writer, that is saying a LOT about an experience and place! Our daughter, who is an artist at heart herself, gave us this delightful and unforgettable experience, a gift for our minds, hearts, and all our senses!
We had reserved a lunch seating time at the on-site RATS Restaurant and requested an outdoor, covered patio table so we could discuss the garden tour and appreciate the breath-taking beauty as we dined. After a drink at the bar within the elaborate inside dining area, we began our walking tour through the sculpture gardens for an hour. We had not realized that having a lunch reservation gave us a reduced ticket price for the Grounds. All we had to do was show the reservation on our phone. You must buy tickets for specific times online before you go.
Promptly at our reserved lunchtime, we were invited into RATS Restaurant. I nearly balked at the name, wondering aloud why a restaurant would have such an uninviting name. Then I devised my own explanation, which made sense: Restaurant At The Sculptures! We had a delightful lunch, expertly prepared, and presented beautifully. The restaurant, managed by Constellation Culinary Group, is reflective of French Country style Cafe, and the name is actually calling to mind Johnson’s favorite Wind in The Willows character, “Ratty,” whom he considered the perfect host and served the best wines and gave the perfect parties. Rats Restaurant is casual but elegant dining at its best, and every bite is delicious. The portions were large enough to share. RATS was anything BUT “ratty!”
Seward Johnson, himself an artist and philanthropist, started his career as a painter but later turned to sculpture which celebrates the mundane and familiar. When the New Jersey Fair Grounds went for sale, he purchased it and for years developed the lovely grounds of 42 acres to create the perfect setting for the 300 sculptures celebrated today. After years of planning, Grounds for Sculpture opened in 1992 and serves as school, galleries, studios, and is the result of the man who had such vision and generosity to create this park with lake, stream, forests, and various kinds of lush greenery and flowering shrubs. To fully inspire the feeling of the Giverny French countryside for the restaurant, Rats faces the scene Claude Monet immortalized in his painting of the Lilypad pond and footbridge.
Throughout the park sculptures often are reminiscent of a famous Old Master’s painting. With an artist’s eye for intricate detail, Johnson recreated the surrounding scenery to match the backgrounds of the painting by familiar masters. As an atelier, Johnson created his sculptures from metal depicting life-sized people. Using the best artists’ techniques, he painted them in colors matching some Old Master’s art or depicting well-known artists, such 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 in and around the scenes which formerly could only be admired and appreciated framed and hanging on walls. The beautiful park has easy, well-planned walkways through the miles of awe-inspiring beauty. Especially noteworthy are the bamboo forest settings and the various views from around the lake. I was taking pictures throughout the park, with my mind marveling at the realistic settings. I walked close to take a photo of a sculpture of a woman resting in a quiet park setting, and to my shock, the woman got up and walked away! That revealed how very convincingly realistic all the sculpture scenes are! But the couple embracing on the ground nearby turned out to be sculptures.
When you go, allow hours to leisurely enjoy while wearing good walking shoes and outdoor clothing. I urge you to plan an entire day at Grounds for Sculpture because we had only three hours and did not even get to cover all the outdoor scenes and never were able to get to the four indoor galleries where emerging artists to learn, create and present their works. Annually shows are presented, and now over 700 artists have displayed their works. Some of the important new sculptors and artists from many countries have become renowned and some of these sculptures are acquired for the permanent park settings and are interspersed throughout the many acres of grounds. These modern sculptures are at first a surprise to the visitors, and then are absorbed with appreciation of keeping art and sculpture always fresh with the times, while the Old Masters never go out of appreciation and admiration.
The current exhibition since 2017 will extend through December of 2024. It is entitled “That’s Worth Celebrating: The Life and Work of the Johnson Family.” This artist family appreciated beauty and art and desired to share their passion with the community as well as train and focus on teaching and encouraging aspiring artists and sculptors at the Seward Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture as they shaped the beautiful GFS through its planning and beginning years. Grounds For Sculpture is open year-round, rain or shine. Memberships are available and public access has become so popular that it is necessary to purchase timed tickets in advance online, which prevents long lines and overcrowding. You can sign up for the GFS free newsletter and stay informed of the changing exhibits and functions. GFS also hosts beautiful weddings and can be booked for special events and parties.
If You Go:
https://www.groundsforsculpture.org/search_gcse/?q=parking
https://www.groundsforsculpture.org/about/
Real Travel Adventures 