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Art and cherries at the Walker Art Center

One of the best art museums in the United States is the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The museum is named after Thomas Barlow Walker, who opened up his private art collection to the public in 1879. It was only in 1927 that the Walker Art Center officially became a museum and it features a truly impressive collection of modern art.

The Walker Art Center is a striking piece of architecture. The brick museum building, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, was inaugurated in 1971. The museum acquired its current modern look in 2005, thanks to the master plan of famous Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, which designed the glass and aluminium annex. The museum campus features a total of 11 exhibition spaces and also houses a cinema, a theatre and a variety of restaurants.

The Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center

Minneapolis

From Picasso to Warhol

With a large collection of 20th and 21st-century art, the Walker Art Center is a must for art lovers. Admire the work of famous artists such as Picasso and Giacometti or enjoy Andy Warhol’s pop art.  The museum also displays minimalist art by Agnes Martin and Sol LeWitt and showcases the modern Italian art movement Arte Povera. The museum boasts its own theatre, the Nadine McGuire Theater, which regularly hosts music, theatre and dance performances. The Walker Cinema offers film presentations and lectures.
The Spoonbridge and Cherry

“The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden effortlessly combines plants and culture”

An eccentric sculpture garden

Right next to the Walker Art Center is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Since its inauguration in 1988, the garden has become one of the biggest attractions in Minneapolis. The sculpture garden is a mix of beautiful lawns, tightly trimmed hedges and abstract art. There are 40 permanent works on display, but the park also receives an additional art boost from regularly changing temporary exhibits. The real eye-catcher is the artwork known as 'Spoonbridge and Cherry': a giant spoon with a cherry. The sculpture was especially designed for the park by pop-art artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen and has become a Minneapolis icon. 

Other renowned artists have also made their mark here; famous architect Frank Gehry (best known for the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao) created the sculpture 'Standing Glass Fish'. Another noticeable structure is the Irene Hixon Whitney footbridge, made from steel and wood. The bridge spans the highway and connects the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to Loring Park.

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