Arts & Culture
11
The Hirshhorn Museum's Sculpture Garden, first opened in 1974, displays sculptures from Europe and North America dating from the 1880s to the present and receives more than 400,000 visitors each year. The sculptures are fragile: steel and other metal works are made from pieces welded together, and these connections can weaken and break when weight is applied. Bronze sculptures are hollow casts with thin surfaces that are easily dented or scratched. Outdoor sculptures also suffer from urban air pollution, so they are protected with a delicate coating of clear wax that erodes when touched, leaving the surface exposed to the elements. Even light contact, as well as fingernails and jewelry, may cause tiny scratches that cannot be fixed, so climbing, sitting on, or leaning against any sculpture is not permitted in order to preserve these artworks for future generations.
Hear stories like this as you drive
ExploreHere reads historical markers out loud as you pass them: over 325,000 stories across the US. No account needed.
4.7 · 800+ ratings · Free
FIND IT
Washington, District of Columbia · United States
