Out of the Jurisdiction: Grounds for Sculpture

The second day north was just straight driving from St. Augustine to a little north of Richmond.

But, for the third day I had some New Jersey sightseeing planned.  The first stop was Grounds for Sculpture, a 42 acre park with almost 300 sculptures, some huge.

The park is the creation of J. Seward Johnson, a noted sculptor and philanthropist who is a scion of the Johnson & Johnson fortune.  You know his work.  He creates life-sized figures 

of ordinary people doing ordinary things like sitting on benches.  

Sometimes he re-creates famous paintings in three dimensions.

Though the park has many Johnson sculptures, they are a small minority.  

The works of many other noted sculptors are also exhibited. 

Many are nicely situated amidst gardens, water, woods and buildings.
Above, Horace Farlowe, Portal Rest.

Kevin Lyles, Passage.  I liked the way it framed houses outside the park, across the water,

Michelle Post, some figures in a series called The Oligarchs.

One of the most eye-catching works, Johnson's Double Check, has quite a story.  It portrays a businessman on a bench, going through his briefcase in advance of an important meeting.  In 1982 it was placed in a plaza near the World Trade Center, and many passing businessmen identified with it.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists brought the World Trade Center down.  Double Check survived with some scars and was covered with ash.  Rescue workers and visitors turned it into a memorial,

with flowers, photographs and other mementos.  It has been reinstalled in the same park.