Museums can be elitist. New York’s lush Storm King aims to change that

The celebrated outdoor sculpture collection is overhauling itself in a bid to improve accessibility and landscape protection

Founded in 1960, Storm King’s contemporary sculpture collection graces 500 acres of rolling meadows and forestland in New York’s Hudson Valley Where else can you witness a multi-ton modernist masterpiece like Alexander Liberman’s Olympic Iliad – 41 cherry red tubes stacked on to one another, 45ft high and 60ft long – against green meadows and forests?

The museum’s visitation increased sharply during the height of the pandemic, as exploring outdoor art offered a welcome break from fraught indoor contact. But can a museum accommodate increased traffic while also ensuring accessibility – and protection of its prized landscape?