Sage & John Cowles Convervatory, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2008, all photos © 2008-2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
In keeping with last week’s Writing Topic, hundreds of windows turn Winter inside out at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden adjacent to the Walker Art Center. Established in 1927, the Walker began as the Upper Midwest’s first public art gallery. The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which opened in 1988, is one of the nation’s largest urban sculpture parks and visitors to the Twin Cities don’t often leave without walking the 11-acre home to more than 40 works of art.
The Sage & John Cowles Conservatory on the western edge of the Sculpture Garden is a community contribution from philanthropists John Cowles, Jr. and his wife Jane Sage Fuller (who also had key roles in bringing the Guthrie Theater and Metrodome to Minneapolis). John Cowles Jr. was named president and CEO of Cowles Media in 1968, after beginning as a police reporter in 1953.
His father, John Cowles Sr., made the cover of TIME in 1935 when he and his brother, Gardner (Mike) Cowles Jr., bought the Minneapolis Star, then the 3rd weakest newspaper in the community. The brothers are descendants of a small-town banker, son of a Methodist elder in Iowa, who started out with little money until turning the Des Moines Register & Tribune and the Minneapolis Star Tribune into well-respected national newspapers.
According to a 1997 article in the Star Tribune:
John Sr. was president of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Co. from 1935 to 1968, and chairman from 1968 to 1973. Through the influence of his newspaper and his own activities, he is credited with turning Minnesota from an isolationist state to an internationally engaged one, and leading the fight against the anti-Semitism that was openly practiced in the state when he arrived.
RainGrate, Standing Pink, Cowles Conservatory, January, 2008, all photos © 2008-2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
Sage Fuller Cowles is a dancer from Bedford Village, New York, and the stepdaughter of Cass Canfield, Sr., one-time chairman of Harper & Row. In the 1950s, she danced on Broadway and television and served as president of Planned Parenthood of Minneapolis from 1957-59. Her approach to philanthropy leans to the holistic, and our community receives the benefit:
I needed to have a new definition of philanthropy. The Greeks came to my rescue. “Love of mankind” was in the dictionary and that suited me fine. Philanthropy is not just about dollars and cents. It’s about giving time, energy, commitment to some idea or cause that we care about. We can all be philanthropists fueled by our individual passions, and we can do a better job of identifying our passions if our early experiences give us confidence to pursue them.
If we focus on educating the whole being would it make a difference to the quality of our communal life? Would we grow a different kind of citizen?
-Sage Fuller Cowles from Getting Ahead of the Curve: Engaging Our Youngest Citizens, April 2006
We take a leisurely stroll through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden every time we head to the Walker for a show. The main section of the three-part Cowles Conservatory houses Frank Gehry’s 22-foot Standing Glass Fish that you can just make out in the photograph. It also houses palm trees, pass-throughs covered in creeping fig, and striking seasonal displays in the Regis Gardens designed by landscape architects Barbara Stauffacher Solomon and Michael Van Valkenburgh.
When we walk by Deborah Butterfield’s horse, Woodrow, we are walking on the same ground where a 1913 convention of the Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulture was held in Minneapolis’ old armory. It was there that Theodore Wirth designed temporary display gardens to show what could be grown in Minnesota’s wintry climate. They were such a success that they were kept in place for decades as demonstration gardens until finally becoming casualties to freeway construction.
But the seed had been planted. Architect of the museum, Edward Larrabee Barnes, picked up the torch and designed the original 7.5 acre Sculpture Garden. In winter months (which in Minnesota can run from October to April), the cave-like city dwellers of Minneapolis and Saint Paul bask in places like Cowles Conservatory where walls of glass allow warmth and light to penetrate the Vitamin D deprived, sun-kissed face of a long dark Winter.
Resources:
- Public Gardens of Minnesota
- Walker Art Center — History
- ArtsNet Minnesota — A Glass House: Cowles Conservatory
- TIME Magazine Cover & Story: John Cowles — Iowa Formula, July 1st, 1935
- Star Tribune Cowles Family Tree – November 13th, 1997
- Space, Time, Illusion, May 2005, Walker Art Center — dancer Sage Cowles & filmmaker Molly Davies discuss their 1970’s collaboration, a series of experimental works.
- Getting Ahead of the Curve: Engaging Our Youngest Citizens by Sage Fuller Cowles, a study in art, education, & philanthropy, Louis W. Hill, Jr., Fellow in Philanthropy, University of Minnesota, April 2006.
-posted on red Ravine, Saturday, March 14th, 2009
You have finally convinced me. I must take a trip to the Twin Cities. I simply cannot pass up the opportunity to see a sculpture garden and the many-windowed conservatory.
Let’s see. I should hit spring weather, hmm, maybe mid-June?
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A gem of a place. And I love the younger Cowles, Sage’s, new definition of philanthropy, thanks to the Greeks. Love of mankind. So simple. And I feel that there is “active” behind that love, if you know what I mean. BTW, is Sage Fuller Cowles John Cowles and Jane Sage Fuller’s daughter?
I bet the Conservatory is a great place to just be. Sit, meditate. Do writing practice, pray tell? Have you ever?
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Bo, June would be a great time to visit. Beautiful here in June. Before all the humidity of summer. After the gray snow of the Spring thaw of Winter! I hope you make it here some day. BTW, if you like conservatories, Saint Paul has a great one, too, that’s a lot larger than Cowles. It’s near the Como Zoo. It’s a great place to visit in the winter when things get so cold here. Just being able to breathe in all that fresh soil and see blooms in progress…well, you know how it is being from Wisconsin!
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ybonesy, I stumbled on that paper by Jane Sage Fuller Cowles (where she gives a new definition of philanthropy) when I was checking out the history of the Cowles Conservatory. She must have gotten a Fellowship to write it. It’s very long but full of insights about philanthropy, education, art, drawings. I think since she was a dancer, she comes from the artist perspective. It made me think that artist as philanthropist is a good combination!
It’s confusing in the piece, but Jane Sage Fuller Cowles is the wife of John Cowles, Jr. When I looked at the Strib piece on their family tree, it looks like they also have a daughter named Jane Sage Cowles who lives with her partner in Seattle. But in this piece, when Sage Cowles is mentioned, it’s the philanthropist and the person who, along with John Jr., donated the Cowles Conservatory to the community. She’s also the dancer and I did find a link to one of her last presentations at the Walker, a 1970’s piece she presented on in 2005. It’s got to be interesting to go back and look at your art from the 70’s, then talk about it in today’s context. The value of art elders.
ybonesy, do you have any conservatories or places like this in New Mexico? I don’t remember any in Pennsylvania or Georgia, though they might be there. Bo, I was wondering if you have any in Wisconsin?
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http://phipps.conservatory.org/
QM, I wanted to chime in & let you know that indeed there are many conservatories in PA. Without researching (though I will later) The Phipps Conservatory for which I provided a link came to mind. It is a lovely botonical conservatory. I’ve been there once, which I think was during a class field trip. My memory becomes more blurred the older I get. There are many more in PA & I’m sure Philadelphia has at least one. Such magical places in all of their splendor & beauty. Like taking a trip to the Amazon!
If I recall, some rooms are so filled with exotic birds, plants, & butterflies, in addition to the waterfalls & glorious flowers & trees.
Minneapolis seems to be a city filled with all sorts of cultural buildings & events. Lucky you! I can see why you have planted your roots there!
I’ll have to go back & check out some of the links later. Thanks! D
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Oh, diddy, that’s a beautiful Conservatory. I had to look at where it was and it looks like it’s in the western part of the state. The site says it was originally stocked with tropical plants from the Columbian Exposition in Chicago of 1893:
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, a great steel and glass Victorian greenhouse, has been inviting visitors to explore the beauty and mysteries of plants since 1893. Set amidst one of Pittsburgh’s largest greenspace, Schenley Park. Phipps Conservatory was built by Henry Phipps as a gift to the City of Pittsburgh. Conservatory must be open on Sundays so the workers could visit on their day of rest. The Conservatory was designed by the New York firm Lord & Burnham and cost $100,000.
I love the timeline (LINK). I’m a big fan of timelines. I like to see how history progresses.
The Twin Cities does have a lot to offer in terms of cultural events, the Arts, authors. I do think that every place has its advantages though and has great cultural history to offer. What is kind of unique to the Twin Cities is how the forefathers ad mothers tended to plan ahead for the growth of the Cities, setting aside green spaces and money to take care of them. There was (and is) great value placed on the Arts as well. I am thankful for that every day. As urban areas go, there is a lot of clean green here.
The Phipps reminds me more of the size of the Como Conservatory in Saint Paul. The scale of that one is much bigger than Cowles. What makes Cowles Conservatory unique is visiting it in conjunction with the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and exhibits at the Walker Art Center. It’s kind of a triangle for me — don’t do one without the other two. 8)
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QM, I wasn’t aware of this beautiful sculpture garden by Gehry. It’s fabulous! And those 2 photos are my absolute favorite of your posts. They are so impressionistic…and mysterious! I would proudly hang both in my home…and of course the Halloween campfire face 😉
I’m gonna have to see the Walker. I’m blessed to have the Getty and the Hammer here but every time you talk about it, I’m more curious to see it and what it has to offer…
really, REALLY great photography
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Now there is a glass house that proves true philanthropy refrains from throwing stones!
Lovely!
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I want to echo Heather’s kudos on your photography. I love the two RainGrate photos and the one of what I think are poinsettias as seen through a foggy lens. Well, I like them all, but the impressionist quality of those is lovely.
QM, we don’t have anything quite like Cowles Conservatory. We have the Rio Grande Botanic Garden [LINK], which is comprised of a set of gardens adjacent to the aquarium, and there is a large glass structure, inside of which all sorts of plants grow. And there is a Japanese garden and a curandera garden with herbs used by healers. It’s a beautiful place, part of our family of museums in the city, but not a privately funded state gem.
Out in Tesuque there is a wonderful sculpture garden called Shidoni [LINK]. It’s a great place, a foundry and a huge outdoor sculpture garden.
The only other place that comes to mind is the Lightning Field [LINK], which is “land art” created by sculpture Walter De Maria and funded by Dia Art Foundation. I believe that is a NY foundation, and from what I recall, they have funded large land installations in Arizona as well. As you might recall, the Lightning Field is on my list of things to do (in this case visit and spend the night) before I die.
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lea, thanks! So true, so true. I’m still sold on the artist as philanthropist point of view. Just a different take.
Heather, thank you. The Gehry sculpture is now housed in the Cowles Conservatory. I didn’t write much about it because I’m going to reference it in a separate post. I love Gehry’s work. Unconventional materials and design. And ever since Liz and I saw that documentary on him and his process (the one with Sydney Pollack, Sketches of Frank Gehry), I like him as an artist even more.
I do hope you make it to the Walker some day, and the Sculpture Gardens. Though it’s true, you have tons of fertile Arts happenings where you are located, too. No lack down your way.
It seems like I talk about the Walker a lot and I do probably tend to visit there more because it houses more contemporary work. But we also have an amazing collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA). They have great shows rolling through their special galleries, too. It’s fun to take an afternoon and stroll or slow walk through the MIA. I used to sketch there sometimes. I think I posted a Kuan Yin from their collection a while back.
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ybonesy, Shidoni looks pretty cool. When they mentioned watching 2000 degree molten bronze being poured into ceramic shell molds, it reminded me what an amazing process that is to watch. They used to have these bronze castings at MCAD and the students would always watch when the molten metal was being poured into the casts. I think it was the lost wax method of casting. I’ve always been fascinated by sculpture though I’m better at 2D.
I remember you talking about The Lightning Field by Walter De Maria. It looks like you can stay overnight at that one. I wonder what kind of electromagnetic fields are in operation in that earth to sky sculpture. Wow. That would be quite remarkable to see. I hope I get to some day.
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QM, Madison has the Bolz Conservatory, a glass pyramid filled wqith tropicals, in Olbrich Botanical Gardens. I am there at least two or three times a month taking photos in the winter.
Then, once it gets warm outside, the outdoor gardens are a marvel–maybe a dozen themed gardens intertwined with paths. Wildflower, rose, perennial, water gardens.
Also there is a Thai garden with a Thai pavilion donated by the Thai government to UW at Madison. They have a close relationship and there is a huge alumni group in Thailand. I’ve written about the pavilion in my blog. It was assembled in the traditional style in Thailand, taken apart, and re-assembled in Madison by 9 artisans from Thailand. It’s all teak and ceramic, no nails, pretty spectacular.
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I was going to say, I’ve read your posts on the Bolz conservatory, Bo. And your frequent shots of the plants and flowers there.
You should include a link to the Thai pavilion. I don’t recall ever coming across that post and would love to see it.
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yb, Here’s the link for the Thai Pavilion post from Madison.
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Wow, Bo, that is incredible. I wonder how everything connects. Dowels? Is that what they’re called? Or just wood fitting into pieces, like a puzzle?
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OK QM…now I’m laughing…when I mentioned the beautiful sculpture garden by Gehry…I thought it was the actual enclosure because I’m used to looking at his architecture. My husband was yelling at me to “get in the car” because he was “hungry” so I didn’t get to click on the link! But I will admit to staring at that glass building for about 15 seconds… before Mike’s wailing started again…and I tried like hell to find that fish!
:O
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Bo, I just checked out the photo in your link and that’s a truly striking place. And no nails or metal fasteners. Beautiful. Thanks for the link. I like your covered bridge series, too. Hope people check it out.
Heather, the Gehry fish is really hard to spot if you don’t know what it looks like. It looks small in the context of this building but it’s actually HUGE. I think it’s a wide-angle shot, too which shrinks everything a bit.
The fish is the vertical texture above the left door. It goes all the way up to the next cross-bar. I know…it is hard to find! I shouldn’t have even mentioned it! 8)
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It’s like an “I Spy…” puzzle, QM. I looked for it too but couldn’t find it. There seem to be a lot of really tall tropical plants in the building.
I do think I see the texture of the fish just left of the door, almost next to the door. Is the fish standing on its tail, by chance?
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ybonesy, I’m pointing to my nose! That’s exactly it! It’s standing on it’s tail and curving upward. I plan to post a little something else on it in the near future. 8)
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OK, I see it then. I can definitely see the texture of the scales.
At first I had been looking for something almost as large as the building itself, although you had even stated that it was large but didn’t seem so in comparison to the scale of the building.
The glass sculpture must add a lot of light to the place, too. Great light to look through. I imagine it’s a bit like an ice sculpture. Is the Conservatory cool in the summer?
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yb, I’m trying to remember now what it’s like in summer. I think it’s climate controlled and remains at an even temp the whole year round. But I’ll have to pay more attention to that as summer approaches. All the snow has melted from our front yard as of today. There is still a pile on the back hill, but temps have been in the 50’s and 60’s. Sun comes and goes. I’m ready for Spring!
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[…] in five sections and reassembled in its second and permanent home in the central gallery of the Cowles Conservatory in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Gehry made a number of Plexiglass models to study the flip of the fish’s tail, the […]
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Architecture holds several designs and options for living that are still used today for contemporary builds. Two of the most popular additions to homes that have been used for centuries are conservatories and orangeries Both these designs work as additional rooms to the home and are built as ‘glass rooms With these specific designs, is a rich history that has led to some of the most luxurious looks in homes.
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Matt, thanks for stopping by. I didn’t know what an orangery was until I checked out your link. Some beautiful designs there for garden rooms, too. If I had an orangery I think I’d still want to use it for the growth and cultivation of exotic plants and fruits. I’ll have to take notice of the architecture when I run into it again in people’s homes. So if you come back this way, I’m wondering now if orangeries are often a part of the design of public conservatories. Or are orangeries a separate thing completely and mostly used in private homes? I guess in a nutshell, what’s the difference betweem a conservatory and an orangery?
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[…] to compensate for the frigid temps and lack of extended sunshine. The first is the oh so lovely Cowles Conservatory located within the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (you know, that place with the cherry and the […]
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Of note related to this post, Publisher John Cowles Jr. died in March 2012. I so appreciate his love of the Arts and the contributions he made to keeping the Arts alive in the Twin Cities. His legacy lives on.
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“John Cowles is one of the most important civic figures in Minneapolis in the last half-century,” said Mayor R.T. Rybak. “The scope of his work was overshadowed only by the humility that was at his core.”
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Excerpt from the March 19th, 2012 Minneapolis StarTribune article: Publisher John Cowles Jr. shaped the Twin Cities for 50 years (LINK):
Courting Tyrone Guthrie
John Sr. and Elizabeth Cowles instilled in their children a love of arts and a sense of duty to the community in which he worked. John Jr. and Sage continued that legacy.
“His parents would be very proud of what John accomplished and contributed,” Whitney said.
In the spring of 1960, he cajoled director Tyrone Guthrie to establish his regional theater in Minneapolis and then went about raising the money to do so, serving as the first president of the theater foundation and later as its board chairman. In 2006, he was co-chairman of the architecture committee involved with the new Guthrie complex.
“Without John, the Guthrie wouldn’t exist,” said Director Joe Dowling. “And as we were building the new theater, you might have thought he’d be nostalgic for the old. But he saw this as maintaining and extending the legacy. His passing is a huge milestone in our history.”
Cowles benefited the Walker Art Center in the 1980s with the $1 million Cowles Conservatory in the Sculpture Garden, and in 2011, he and Sage were honored for support of the Cowles Center for Dance in downtown Minneapolis. He also served on the Minnesota Orchestra’s board of directors.
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