Installed in 1988 for the opening of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Spoonbridge and Cherry was created by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen as a monumental fountain spanning a small pond. Commissioned by the Walker Art Center and funded by Frederick R. Weisman, it transformed a familiar spoon-and-cherry pairing into a playful large-scale work shaped in part by the garden’s design. Fabricated in Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, it was set in place by crane and soon became a widely recognized symbol of Minneapolis. Its bright color, humor, and accessibility helped make it the Walker’s best-known work, while periodic repainting has preserved it.