Art and nature in harmony
NOMA is committed to the health and safety of our community. Please see safety guidelines below.
Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.
Open seven days a week
Summer Hours (April–September) 10 am–6 pm | Winter Hours (October–March) 10 am–5 pm
Wheelchairs may be used throughout our barrier-free property and are available upon request.
Image: Elyn Zimmerman’s Mississippi Meanders bridge is illuminated at dusk.
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden occupies approximately eleven acres in City Park adjacent to the museum. Atypical of most sculpture gardens, this garden is located within a mature existing landscape of pines, magnolias, and live oaks surrounding two lagoons. The garden design creates outdoor viewing spaces within this picturesque landscape. Originally conceived in 2003, the Sculpture Garden doubled in size in 2019 and has grown to include more than 90 sculptures. READ MORE
Sydney and Walda Besthoff are the namesake visionary founders behind a world-renowned sculpture garden for New Orleans.
LEARN MORE
Architects, landscape architects, lighting designers, and arborists were among the contractors who made it all possible.
LEARN MORE
See highlights of the Sculpture Garden in a virtual tour produced in partnership with the Google Arts & Culture Initiative.
LEARN MORE
You can play a role in the historic expansion of the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden by making a gift to support the project.
LEARN MORE
Relive the excitement of the grand opening of the Besthoff Sculpture Garden expansion in May 2019.
WATCH
Bronze
Pablo Casals’s Obelisk, a towering accumulation of welded bronze cellos, dominates the waters of a lagoon in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Standing over twenty feet tall, the Obelisk, built in homage to the world-renowned Spanish-Puerto Rican cellist and human rights activist Pablo Casals, is an imposing example of monumental sculpture by French-born artist Arman.
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art offers detailed entries on 64 artworks in the original 2003 garden, as well as a bibliography and overview of the garden’s founding. 192 pages, hardcover. Edited by Miranda Lash. $49.95
There`s nothing like a Saturday during Mardi Gras season 💜💚💛
The Romanian-American cartoonist Saul Steinberg created a playful series of parade-inspired cartoons (including this one in @neworleansmuseumofart`s permanent collection) that illustrate the whimsy and wonder of the season.
If you find yourself out and about this weekend, don`t forget to bundle up 👀❄️✨️
__
🎨: Saul Steinberg (Romanian American, 1914-1999), Parade, 1968. Pencil on paper. Gift of the Saul Steinberg Foundation.
...
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11: Harmonia Rosales and CCH Pounder: Conversation and Book Signing Celebrating "Chronicles of Ori: An African Epic" 📚️✨️💬
NOMA is delighted to welcome acclaimed artist Harmonia Rosales (@honeiee), along with actor and art collector CCH Pounder (@cchpounder), to @neworleansmuseumofart this February in celebration of Rosales`s new book, "Chronicles of Ori: An African Epic."
The evening will open with a book signing in the Coleman Courtyard, followed by a moderated conversation between Rosales and Pounder in NOMA`s Lapis Center for the Arts. This conversation will be moderated by Dr. Redell Hearn, NOMA`s Chief Educator.
This program is free and open to the public, with registration highly encouraged. Copies of "Chronicles of Ori" will be available for purchase through the NOMA Museum Shop during the program.
📕 This program is in conjunction with NOMA`s Book Club, who will meet on Thursday, February 5th for a discussion on "Chronicles of Ori."
🔗 Register for 2/11`s book signing and conversation, 2/5`s book club discussion, and purchase "Chronicles of Ori" from the NOMA Museum Shop at the links in our bio
...
@neworleansmuseumofart’s conservation team has been working hard to clean and care for works in our permanent collection before they go on view, including this recently-acquired turkey-shaped incense burner from the 18th century (on view soon) 🦃
Watch our Conservator of Objects Ingrid Seyb remove a candle that had been placed inside the burner before it entered our collection.
__
🎨: Peruvian, maker unknown. “Turkey-shaped incense burner from Peru,” 18th century. Gift of Charles L. Whited, Jr.
...
THIS MONTH AT NOMA: JANUARY 2026 🏛️📆✅️
Between opening celebrations for the upcoming exhibition "Hayward Oubre: Structural Integrity," our second Studio KIDS! sessions of the year, book signings and gallery talks with New Orleans-based writer @boyceu, and even more, there are so many ways to stay involved with NOMA this month.
🔗 Check out and register for these upcoming events (and more) at the link in our bio
...
NOMA BOOK CLUB 2026 READING LIST AND SCHEDULE 📚️🗓️🏛️
Looking to meet your reading goals this year? We`ve got a great assortment of books lined up for this year`s book club at @neworleansmuseumofart, including exhibition catalogs, major award winners, poetry collections, and more ✨️
🔗 Check out this year`s lineup and reading schedule here and at the link in our bio
...
Happy Birthday to Robert Longo 🎂🎨🎊
Longo’s “Men in the Cities” multimedia series was first inspired by the movements of men falling and flailing in Rainer Fassbinder’s 1970 film “The American Soldier.” His work “Speed of Grace,” seen here in NOMA’s Besthoff Sculpture Garden, earns its title from the artist’s own description of the movement of Fassbinder’s on-screen characters.
Longo established himself among what is known as the Pictures Generation: artists whose work demonstrated a heightened awareness of the the expansion and importance of images in modern society. The artist’s move into sculpture expanded his use of media to interrogate the function and form of violent images in mass culture through his work.
__
🎨: Robert Longo. “Speed of Grace,” from ‘Cities of the Men.’ Bronze. Museum Purchase with funds provided by Sydney and Walda Besthoff. 2017.228
📍: Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at @neworleansmuseumofart
...
We’re making continual changes to bring all of our engaging digital offerings to the forefront of our website. We invite you to keep coming back for new content and exciting updates!
Discover artworks, collections, and stories in a digital format from NOMA like never before.
