De Cordova Museum and Sculpture Park
51 Sandy Pond Road
Lincoln, MA 01773
Contact: Brent Sverdloff
Tel: (781) 259-8355
Fax:(781) 259-3650
Email: info@decordova.org
Website: www.decordova.org

The DeCordova Museum, the largest museum of contemporary art in New England, is located 30 minutes west of Boston. Its 35 acre Sculpture Park provides a rotating permanent exhibition of contemporary American outdoor sculpture, with over 75 works on display. This program, under the direction of Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Lafo and Curator Nick Capasso, is a cross-section of today’s outdoor sculpture, with a great variety of materials, styles, subject matter, and content.

The Sculpture Park operates with a three-tier exhibition program:

• Permanent Collection: These works are few in number, and tend to include 20^th-century sculpture by historically significant artists such as George Rickey, Alexander Lieberman, and Beverly Pepper.
• Loans: These works are borrowed for 1-3 year periods from artists, collectors, galleries, and museums, and make up the bulk of work within the Sculpture Park. Approximately 8-15 sculptures rotate in and out of the Sculpture Park each year.
• Installations: Each year DeCordova commissions a handful of artists to create site-specific, temporary, long term (approximately 1-5 years) outdoor installations designed expressly for specific sites in the Sculpture Park.

DeCordova also organizes annual solo exhibitions of contemporary outdoor sculpture. Exhibiting artists have included John Van Alstine, Carlos Dorrien, Nikki Ketchman, and Robert Arneson.

The core of DeCordova’s educational programming is DeCordova’s Museum School, which is the largest non-degree granting studio art program in Massachussetts with over 4,000 adults and children enrolled each year. Education also happens through professional permanent and changing exhibitions, the Dr. Kenneth Germeshausen Art ExperienCenter, teacher workshops, education programs in schools, and by hosting other lectures and special programs. DeCordova’s educational focus is not only on objects of art, but also on the makers and the process of making art. Whenever and wherever possible, the living artist is involved in DeCordova’s mission, whether as teacher and student or educator and learner.

Admission is $6 per person, $4 for senior citizens, students and youth ages 6-12. Children age 5 and under are admitted free. The Sculpture Park is free.

The DeCordova Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, 11a.m. to 5p.m. and on selected Monday holidays. The Sculpture Park is open year round. Appointments for private viewing can be made through the Marketing Dept. by calling (781) 259-8355.

Visitors can visit the web site www.decordova.org or can call the main number (781) 259-8355 to listen to recorded information; if they phone, visitors have the option of speaking with a receptionist to receive further directions, if needed. The DeCordova Web site has become much more interactive and transactional. It is now possible to order items from The Store, renew and purchase Memberships, make donations or volunteer, order tickets for special events, and enroll for Museum School courses - all online.

DeCordova provides ample parking in an on-site lot and there is no parking fee. Free guided public tours of the Museum’s Main Galleries take place every Wednesday at 1pm and Sunday at 2p.m.. Free guided tours of the Sculpture Park are given every Saturday and Sunday at 1p.m. from May to Oct. Special guided tours of the Museum and Sculpture Park led by DeCordova Museum Guides can be arranged for groups of 15 persons or more. Four weeks advance notice and a deposit of $30 per tour is required to reserve a date. For information about tours, call the Education Department at (781)259-3619. DeCordova does not yet offer acoustiguide tours.

A Sculpture Park Guide ($9.95) and exhibition catalogues are available by calling The Store @De Cordova at (781) 259-8692. De Cordova also provides a tour of the Sculpture Park on our web site at www.decordova.org A Sculpture Park Guide and exhibition catalogues are available and can be purchased during a visit or via the mail (see above).

Located within the museum, is the Café @ De Cordova, which is open Wednesday-Sunday, 11a.m. to 3p.m.. The Store @DeCordova, which has been hailed by The Boston Globe "the best museum store in the area" is located in a separate building near the museum’s front entrance. The Museum Store is open Monday-Thursday, 9:30a.m. to 7:30p.m., Friday-Saturday, 9:30a.m. to 5:30p.m., and Sunday 11:30a.m. to 5:30p.m.. Restrooms are located within the Museum and near the Museum School Gallery, which is adjacent to The Store@ DeCordova.

Joseph Wheelwright

George Rickey

Rico Eastman

Kathleen Driscoll

Jim Dine

Deborah Brown