July 23: DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts

It is about 5:20 p.m. here in S. Hamilton, and the temperature is about 84, with a significant amount of humidity factored in.  But it isn’t 110 degrees and Dallas, so I am grateful for the beautiful afternoon and the lovely breezes that are wafting through.  

Today, after a great night’s sleep, Marthe and I had breakfast on her screened-in porch, with open-faced peanut butter sandwiches, some good strong coffee, and slices of canteloupe.  We discussed future days’ possible itineraries, and then settled on what we wanted to do today.  Josh went off to work, noting that most museums were closed on Mondays (today is a Monday), but that the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts was open.  We decided to go there.  

Lincoln was settled by Europeans in 1654, as a part of Concord.  The majority of Lincoln was formed by splitting off a substantial piece of SE Concord, and incorporated as a separate town in 1754. The DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, a 30-acre sculpture park and contemporary art museum on the shore of Flint’s Pond in Lincoln, was established in 1950.  It is the largest park of its kind in New England, encompassing 30 acres.  It is located about 25 miles NW of Boston.  DeCordova’s mission is to foster the creation, exhibition and exploration of contemporary sculpture and art through exhibitions, learning opportunities, collection, and a unique park setting.  There is a constantly changing landscape of large-scale, outdoor, modern and contemporary sculpture and on-site installations.  The Sculpture Park has more than 60 works, the majority of which are on loan to the museum.  Inside, there are a lot of rotating exhibits. The DeCordova’s emphasis on photography (my special interest) and works by artists with connections to New England make for a very focused collection.  See one of my favorite photographs, the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport in New York (designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1962).  

Given 60 acres of Sculpture Park and the museum to explore, we saw roughly half of the Sculpture Park first and then went to the Museum Store and the Cafe.  The store was a treasure trove of all kinds of unique pieces, and both Marthe and I bought, afterwards turning our attention to lunch.  We divvied up a lettuce/beet/feta cheese salad and 6 small tartlets of mini mushrooms—a perfect repast, and enough for both.  Afterwards we roamed the Museum and the rest of the Sculpture Park, and the weather, after a gentle rain in the morning, turned cloudless—all great ingredients for a fine afternoon in the Sculpture Garden.  

It is now 6:00 p.m., and Marthe and I are waiting for Josh to get home from work.  We will have dinner here, and then afterwards, we shall do slide shows on their trip to Bordeaux and the Dordogne and my trip to Switzerland.  At least those are possibilities, unless we change our minds.  The evening is young.  Lovely and quiet around here, so I will simply bask in the lovely holding pattern I am in right now.  Good evening, and Tschau!  SV

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