Famous for his curatorial acumen, Nelson A. Rockefeller installed modern sculpture throughout the gardens established by his father and grandfather at Kykuit, the Rockefeller family estate in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Alexander Liberman’s Above II glistens in the copper beech grove after an afternoon rain.
Dogwoods in the brook garden bloom near the temple of Aphrodite.
A monumental staircase leads from the forecourt to terraced lawns below, with Augustin Pajou’s Cupid and Psyche punctuating the landing.
Aristide Maillol’s Bather Putting Up Her Hair graces a fountained rill in the inner garden, on access with the teahouse in the morning garden.
In the Beaux-Arts garden, Louise Nevelson’s Atmosphere and Environment and Arnaldo Pomodoro’s Traveller’s Column contrast with 18th-century limestone sculptures of Hercules with the Hydra and the Nemean Lion, part of architect William W. Bosworth’s original design for Kykuit.
Lucio Fontana’s Spatial Concept: Nature I and II adds a modern edge to pools paved in a classical pattern of black and white pebbles.
Reg Butler’s Girl with a Vest (left) vies for attention with Gaston Lachaise’s voluptuous Standing Woman in the inner garden, where a wrought-iron gate leads to the brook garden.
