Des Moines Art Center to pay artist $900,000, destroy land artwork

A nearly year-long legal battle between the Des Moines Art Center and a New York-based artist has come to an end. The center will pay $900,000 to artist Mary Miss to settle the dispute and destroy her installation “Greenwood Pond: Double Site.”

“The settlement will end a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Miss on April 4, 2024 and allow the Des Moines Art Center to continue with previously announced plans to remove the artwork in its entirety,” said the art center in a press release.

The wooden artwork, installed in Greenwood Park in 1996, was commissioned as part of the art center’s permanent collection. The environmental structure is composed of a series of walkways, shelters, and viewing sites that visitors can use to observe nature, but has deteriorated over time due to Iowa’s harsh weather. The center blocked certain parts of it that it considered dangerous.

He said immediate repairs would cost $2.6 million, plus millions more for continued renovation. Plans have been made to remove the works in spring 2024.

“…We do not and will never have the money to do it again,” Kelly Baum, director of the Des Moines Art Center, told Miss in an email on December 1, 2023.

The decision outraged the artists and, citing a breach of contract, Miss filed a lawsuit last spring to stop the demolition. The internationally renowned artist received dozens of letters of support.

“I am very grateful for the broad support that has brought us to this final settlement: to the artists, designers, patrons and others who have followed the issues surrounding the future of Greenwood Pond: Double Site, I extend my sincere thanks,” said Miss. said in a statement following the settlement. “I hope that the resurrection and reconsideration of this project will lead to new reflections on the relationships between artists, environmental issues, communities and our public cultural institutions. I hope that this experience can help develop more connections strong in the future.”

In response to the settlement, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a Washington-based education and advocacy organization, announced the creation of the Public Art Advocacy Fund to “provide a national platform for works under threat and at risk.” Miss will be his first donor, using part of the settlement money.

“What happened to “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” could and should have been avoided, but the institution that commissioned the environmental sculpture for its permanent collection appears to have failed as a proper caretaker and steward of this work of art. widely acclaimed and influential art, which is a core function and responsibility,” TCLF President and CEO Charles A. Birnbaum said in a statement.

It is unclear when the facility will be completely removed.