Friday, April 3, 2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES - LAST OF THE STATUES FROM THE SEWARD JOHNSON EXHIBIT WE SAW BACK IN JANUARY 2014

McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach, Florida, was incredible. One of the prettiest, tropical gardens I have ever seen. 
The following are the last of the statues that I will be sharing. There were probably ones missed but I think we saw most of them. The links still work but the exhibition is obviously different (the present one at the time of writing is called "Florigami in the Garden". If we were in that vicinity, I know we would enjoy seeing it. The garden is celebrating its centennial. 
The following is what I wrote for a post published on my old blog I (now closed) in March 2014. There may be other things out of date also.
    
"Today I am sharing several sculptures from the garden.  There are more statues today, it will be longer than usual. Apart from the one at the bottom, these will be more present-day pieces. You can follow this link to Seward Johnson's website.
"Best Seller" shows a man who has fallen asleep in an Adirondack chair.  I read that when this sculpture was placed in another exhibition in a park, someone dialed 911 thinking that the man had stayed still for far too long and was worried that he was ill.







"Midstream"
This 'fisherman' is actually wading in their famous lily pond.














"Getting Involved" shows a grandmother knitting....


and on the bench next to her, the reason is clearly shown.




"Out of Sight"


"Summer Thinking"










"Photo Shoot"




"Follow the Leader"


"Shaping Up"




This one is called "Follow Me" and is inspired by Edouard Manet's painting, "The Fifer" painted in 1866.  To find out more you can go to this link."



That's all of them. I will be sharing a couple of posts about the garden and its tropical surroundings eventually. I have enjoyed revisiting and I hope you have also.

Thank you for visiting and for those who have the time to comment, very much appreciated. I hope your day is going well. 




 

47 comments:

  1. Wow, the tropical forest looks like a real rainforest! And the statues look so real, especially the man who is sleeping!

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    1. I know, that struck me when I visited these places. I remember once waiting for someone to come around a corner years ago, not realizing that it was an actual statue when I looked more closely :)

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  2. What a beautiful place to visit, those statues looks so real and I did smile about the first one :), Denise. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You are very welcome and thank you Margaret. I agree! I would love to go there again and who knows, maybe one day :)

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  3. Hello Denise,
    The sculptures are amazing, they look so life-like and full of action and fun.
    Take care, enjoy your day and happy Easter weekend!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed them and I wish you the same Eileen. Happy Easter Weekend!

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  4. These sculptures are all so amazing. That's funny that someone called 911 about the one sleeping in the chair

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  5. The statues are unbelievably lifelike.

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  6. Dear Denise,
    Looks like the tropics, and the statues are so life-like, they fooled me completely. Have a very Happy Easter Denise.
    Best wishes
    Sonjia.

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    1. I can see why it is so easy to be taken in, I was at first. Thank you dear Sonjia, Happy Easter and my best wishes to you too :)

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  7. A wonderful collection of images. These are lovely and lifelike statues in glorious surroundings, all showing little moments of humanity that make life worth living.

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    1. Happy you enjoyed them Penelope :) a beautiful way to describe them.

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  8. These statues are amazing. Especially these "modern" ones. For a minute I wondered if the first one might have been with your traveling companion who fell asleep while waiting for you. That's what my husband would do. Grin.

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    1. It would be an easy assumption Erika and I smiled at the thought of your husband taking a nap waiting for you :) Thank you!

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  9. I can quite see how people would be taken in by these sculptures.

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  10. I am in awe of the statues...AMAZING...facial expressions so real
    Hugs Cecilia

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    1. Very much so Cecilia, and thank you with hugs, Denise

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  11. I need another word for Amazing! I don't have one. These are the most realistic statues I have ever seen. the sleeper and the fisherman are the best for me, and the gardens are perfection. they fit my style, I like jungle look , not perfectly pruned look.. wild grown not contained by men.. awesome post

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    1. Thank you Sandra, I feel the same way :) they are 'amazing', it's a great word to describe how we feel about them isn't it? I also liked that jungle look, not so perfectly manicured and yet absolutely beautiful.

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  12. They could definitely fool a person from a distance!

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  13. Beautiful photos. Wishing you a blessed Easter.

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  14. At first glance, a few of those statues looked real.

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    1. Thanks Mary, I agree, it was quite startling to think they were real when coming across them and then after a minute realizing they were sculptures :)

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  15. I love the Batman shirt and that first shot, I had to take a deeper look. I swear that was a real person. Pretty cool.

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    1. I know Ivy, and his arm hanging over the chair. such detail in the skin. Almost like if you took his pulse and you would find one, lol! :)

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  16. Oh, my goodness - all I can say is WOW. That statue of the man sleeping - looked so incredibly real. Have a blessed Easter.

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    1. Exactly what I said at the time Sandie :) Thank you and you have a blessed Easter also .

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  17. These are so realistic, I am in awe!

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    1. Me too Jeanie, I couldn't stop feeling that way each statue I came across :)

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  18. Wow! These are all so realistic!
    Lovely to see your photographs ... thank you.

    All the best Jan

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    1. That great Jan and thank you so much. All the best to you too :)

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  19. Lindo jardín botánico. Te mando un beso.

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    1. Muchas gracias; me alegra que haya disfrutado del jardín. Te mando un beso.

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  20. These are great photos Denise :-D

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    1. Thanks so much Ananka, I really appreciate that.

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  21. These are very realistic! I imagine people want to pose with them.

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    1. I have a few posing photos I didn't publish :)

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