(With summer here and lots of re-posts on the site I thought I'd add in a great day trip from three summers back in time. This was originally posted on August 15, 2009)

Yesterday afternoon I drove west across the Hudson River to visit The Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, NY. Located about 20 minutes north of the Bear Mountain Bridge, this collection of monumental outdoor sculpture and artwork located in the museum building offer a special experience for the art aficionado. As you can tell from the photos the location has spectacular mountain views in the distance.

I traveled there with my wife, one of our sons and a friend who came up from Manhattan for the day. We enjoyed a pleasant lunch at the shaded picnic area with food we brought with us for the occasion.

Besides the regular collection, we were looking forward to seeing the work of Maya Lin. Her "Wavefield" installation in one of the distant fields is a huge attraction and currently the museum building has on exhibit many of her smaller pieces, plus others that fill entire rooms. The exhibit is entitled, "Maya Lin: Bodies of Water." Unlike some other museums I have visited, there are no restrictions on visitors taking photographs.

I have placed some general information about the art center below and the official web site is: http://www.stormking.org

Storm King Art Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York is an open air museum which has extended the concept of a "sculpture garden" to become a "sculpture landscape." Founded in 1960 by Ralph E. Ogden as a museum for Hudson Valley painters it soon expanded into a major sculpture venue with the acquisition of works from the estate of David Smith.

A permanent collection of monumental works has been sited in grand outdoor "rooms". There is a core collection of pieces by modern masters such as Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, and Louise Nevelson. These are joined with more recent large-scale sculptures by contemporary sculptors including Magdalena Abakanowicz, Alice Aycock, Mark di Suvero, Andy Goldsworthy, Alexander Liberman, Roy Lichtenstein, and Richard Serra.

The grounds

The development of the Storm King landscape has been the work of more than 40 years. Vistas of distant mountains contrast with fields of waving native grasses and woodlands. The sculptures are selected and sited to contribute to the overall impact.

A 1935 residence designed after a Norman chateau has been converted to use as the Museum Building. In addition to nine galleries it houses a museum shop and offices.

A picnic area encourages visitors to spend time relaxing in the company of great works of art.

Below: Maya Lin's "Wavefield"

Click on the arrow to start the slideshow below:

Photos (including my slideshow), and text (except for the Wikipedia material) are all © 2009 by B+Co., Inc.