Calder’s Le Guichet will Spend the Summer at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

BROOKLYN, NY.- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden announced that Le Guichet (The Box Office) by Alexander Calder will be on view in the Osborne Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden from June 4 through the end of summer. Earlier this year, Lincoln Center paid tribute to Mayor Bloomberg at its annual spring gala by offering to move the work by Calder to any place in New York City of his choosing for 90 days. After a Citywide location search, First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris and Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin selected Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is celebrating its centennial year.

“When Lincoln Center made this gesture—a gift to all New Yorkers—I asked Patti Harris and Kate Levin to find it the right home for the summer, and they have,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Brooklyn Botanic Garden is one of New York City’s most beautiful settings, and as it celebrates its 100th year, Le Guichet will make it an even more special place to visit this summer. Thank you to Reynold Levy and Lincoln Center for giving us the opportunity to expand the sculpture’s audience to include more New Yorkers this summer.”

“Michael Bloomberg is a mayor who understands the importance of the arts to New York City, both aesthetically and economically,” said Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy. “An aficionado and supporter of all arts forms long before he moved into politics, he has worked tirelessly to re-imagine public spaces, including those at Lincoln Center, for everyone in this city to enjoy. We’re delighted that Lincoln Center can participate in these activities by loaning Le Guichet to another of New York City’s urban jewels, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, at the Mayor’s behest.”

American sculptor Alexander Calder attends the installation of his work "Le Guichet" (The Window) at New York's Lincoln Center Nov. 11, 1965. AP Photo/Jacob Harris

“We look forward to sharing this extraordinary work of art with everyone who visits the Garden this summer as we celebrate our 100th birthday,” said Scot Medbury, president of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “The Osborne Garden’s linear, symmetric landscape will provide an exceptional setting for Le Guichet’s whimsical silhouette, and allow visitors to experience both the sculpture and the setting anew. All of us at BBG are deeply grateful to the Mayor, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and to Lincoln Center, and especially their president Reynold Levy for envisioning such a wonderful collaboration, and for recognizing the significance of the Garden’s centennial in such a unique and remarkable way.”

Le Guichet was created by Alexander Calder in 1963 and presented to Lincoln Center in 1965 as a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Lipman. Straddling the Center’s north plaza like a giant metal spider in front of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the fanciful sculpture balances on four arched legs that create a series of archways through which viewers can pass. The sculpture will be disassembled and moved from Lincoln Center in a daylong move requiring a crew of four to five men and a conservator, a fork lift with jib attachment, gantry with chain falls, and an assortment of padding and nylon slings. A specialized fine art mover will do the actual handling and trucking, and another day will be needed to reassemble the work in the Osborne Garden, which is the first space encountered when entering BBG from its Eastern Parkway entrance. A three-acre semi-formal garden, it features Italianate landscaping and was designed by landscape architect Harold Caparn in 1935.

Growing from its humble beginnings as an ash dump in the late 1800s, Brooklyn Botanic Garden has come to represent today the very best in urban gardening and horticultural display, featuring over 12,000 kinds of plants across 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn. Since the Garden first opened its gates to the public, it has been a vibrant place for education, research, and sanctuary, and hosts more than 725,000 visitors annually.