Culture: Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden Reopens October 31 With 60 Artworks, Nara's Three New Sculptures Debut on West Lawn
The Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., will reopen to the public on October 31 after a four-year revitalization: according to the museum, the 1.3-acre garden will display 60 artworks, a 50 percent increase over its previous installation, within a landscape of nearly 30,000 newly planted trees and plants, and a free opening celebration will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day, with three new sculptures by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara debuting on the West Lawn.
The redesign is by architect and artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, working with respect for Gordon Bunshaft's original design: dry-stacked stone walls hand-cut from 950 tons of stone define the gallery areas, the long-closed underground passageway is restored to reconnect the garden with the museum plaza, and access expands to five entry points, including a wider entrance on the National Mall side and ramps from the north and south. The East Garden presents modernist bronzes by Rodin, Matisse and Henry Moore alongside recent contemporary acquisitions.
Director Melissa Chiu said the revitalization is the most significant rethinking of the campus since the Hirshhorn opened in 1974. Of the 60 works in the reopening installation, 39 come from founding donor Joseph H. Hirshhorn's personal collection, including 21 installed at the garden's 1974 opening. The inaugural West Lawn exhibition, Yoshitomo Nara: Sentinels of Stillness, presents three large sculptures created in 2025 and runs through November 7, 2027. Admission to the Hirshhorn is free.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 改造后的赫希洪雕塑花园东花园效果图。DarcStudio 绘，赫希洪博物馆提供。 / Rendering of the revitalized Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden East Garden by DarcStudio, courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum.
