The Cullen Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston
By Joan Whetzel
Houston plays host to a large selection of art museums and galleries. One of Houston's major arts attractions is the Cullen Sculpture Garden which is part of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston collections. In a small enclosed outdoor setting, visitors can view some of the most spectacular modern art sculptures.
Museum of Fine Arts
The museum itself contains over 63,000 works of art. The magnitude of the MFAH collections is awe inspiring. The MFAH is opened to the public from 10AM to 5PM Monday through Wednesday, from 10 to 5 on Thursday through Saturday, and from 12:15 to 7 on Sundays for an admission fee of $7 for adults and $3.50 for children, seniors and students with an ID. The MFAH website can be found at: http://www.mfah.org/ But the entire collection is not inside the walls of the buildings, but outside in a park, directly across the street from the MFAH, a collection of scuptures called the Cullen Sculpture Garden.
Cullen Sculpture Garden
The Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden is housed outside in a small enclosure across the street. This exhibit, which has been opened since April 5, 1986, can be viewed at no charge.
The Sculpture garden, designed by Isamu Noguchi, displays 25 large, modern sculptures, intended to be displayed in an outdoor setting. The sculptures are set among the green grassy areas and surrounded by native trees, with an elegant concrete pathway wending its way among them.
The sculptures are the works of such artists as Louise Bourgeois, Ellsworth Kelly, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso. The full Chronology of the Cullen Sculpture Garden can be found at http://mfah.org/visit/cullen-sculpture-garden/history-cullen-sculpture-garden/
The best part about this exhibit is that you only have to park once to visit both the MFAH and the Cullen Sculpture Garden as well as the Modern Art Museum which sits diagonally across from the Museum of Fine Arts. The Museum of Fine Arts also houses a Café Express so visitors can make a day off all 3 sets of art exhibits without having to leave to go find lunch. What's more the parking is free and is located right next to the Cullen Sculpture Garden, in a portion of the Methodist Church Parking lot. This is one art museum tour that's definitely worth the trip.
