DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (Decordova Museum and Sculpture Park)
The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is a sculpture park and contemporary art museum on the shore of Flint's Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts, 20 miles northwest of Boston. It was established in 1950. It is the largest park of its kind in New England, encompassing 30 acres.
Providing a constantly changing landscape of large-scale, outdoor, modern and contemporary sculpture and site-specific installations, the Sculpture Park displays more than 60 works, most on loan to the museum. Inside, the museum features rotating exhibitions. DeCordova's permanent collection focuses on works in all media, with particular emphasis on photography and works by artists with connections to New England.
DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is located on the former estate of Julian de Cordova (1851-1945). The self-educated son of a Jamaican merchant, Julian became a successful tea broker, wholesale merchant, investor, and president of the Union Glass Company in Somerville, Massachusetts. He married into the locally prominent Dana family of Boston. Julian and his wife Elizabeth traveled around the globe collecting art. Inspired by his trips to Spain and his own Spanish heritage, Julian remodeled his summer home in Lincoln in 1910 to resemble a European castle. His exposure to the visual arts abroad also influenced his management of the Union Glass Company, which under his stewardship produced ornamental glass to rival the quality of his European competitors.
In his later years, Julian opened the doors of his estate to share his collection. He gave his property to the town of Lincoln in 1930 with the stipulation that his estate would become a public museum of art following his death in 1945. Julian's will established a committee of incorporation, whose duties included formulating the policy, objectives, and supervision of the new museum with the guidance of professionals in the field, such as the Director of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston.
Independent appraisers determined that Julian's collections were not of substantial interest or value, so the collection was sold and the proceeds were used to create a museum of regional contemporary art. The Trustees reached this decision after they noticed the near absence of modern art exhibitions in the Boston area, and the lack of venues for works by regional contemporary artists. When it officially opened in 1950 as the DeCordova and Dana Museum, it was the only museum to focus its exhibitions and collecting activities on living New England artists, while also offering an educational program in the visual arts.
The founding director was Frederick P. Walkey, a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He aggressively organized an exhibition schedule and arts instruction program with a clear educational mandate. DeCordova established a reputation for ground-breaking exhibitions that introduced New England audiences to important trends within contemporary art both regionally and nationally, including Pop Art and Boston's post-war expressionist movement. It changed its name to the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in around 1989. Georgia Litwack taught photography courses at the deCordova.
In 2019, deCordova was acquired by The Trustees of Reservations, a land conservation and historic preservation non-profit.
DeCordova is under the artistic direction of Jessica May. The prior director of deCordova was John Ravenal, who was appointed in 2015.
Providing a constantly changing landscape of large-scale, outdoor, modern and contemporary sculpture and site-specific installations, the Sculpture Park displays more than 60 works, most on loan to the museum. Inside, the museum features rotating exhibitions. DeCordova's permanent collection focuses on works in all media, with particular emphasis on photography and works by artists with connections to New England.
DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is located on the former estate of Julian de Cordova (1851-1945). The self-educated son of a Jamaican merchant, Julian became a successful tea broker, wholesale merchant, investor, and president of the Union Glass Company in Somerville, Massachusetts. He married into the locally prominent Dana family of Boston. Julian and his wife Elizabeth traveled around the globe collecting art. Inspired by his trips to Spain and his own Spanish heritage, Julian remodeled his summer home in Lincoln in 1910 to resemble a European castle. His exposure to the visual arts abroad also influenced his management of the Union Glass Company, which under his stewardship produced ornamental glass to rival the quality of his European competitors.
In his later years, Julian opened the doors of his estate to share his collection. He gave his property to the town of Lincoln in 1930 with the stipulation that his estate would become a public museum of art following his death in 1945. Julian's will established a committee of incorporation, whose duties included formulating the policy, objectives, and supervision of the new museum with the guidance of professionals in the field, such as the Director of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston.
Independent appraisers determined that Julian's collections were not of substantial interest or value, so the collection was sold and the proceeds were used to create a museum of regional contemporary art. The Trustees reached this decision after they noticed the near absence of modern art exhibitions in the Boston area, and the lack of venues for works by regional contemporary artists. When it officially opened in 1950 as the DeCordova and Dana Museum, it was the only museum to focus its exhibitions and collecting activities on living New England artists, while also offering an educational program in the visual arts.
The founding director was Frederick P. Walkey, a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He aggressively organized an exhibition schedule and arts instruction program with a clear educational mandate. DeCordova established a reputation for ground-breaking exhibitions that introduced New England audiences to important trends within contemporary art both regionally and nationally, including Pop Art and Boston's post-war expressionist movement. It changed its name to the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in around 1989. Georgia Litwack taught photography courses at the deCordova.
In 2019, deCordova was acquired by The Trustees of Reservations, a land conservation and historic preservation non-profit.
DeCordova is under the artistic direction of Jessica May. The prior director of deCordova was John Ravenal, who was appointed in 2015.
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| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
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| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |