Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum

I recently discovered this little gem on their last free admission wknd of the summer. I can’t believe I have lived in Austin for 5yrs and never made it out here!
First, let me say, that this place is definitely a place meant and designed for quiet introspection and appreciation of the sculptures, thoughtfully placed and integrated into the landscape and grounds. The water feature at the entrance is especially pleasant and you can walk via a pathway to the top of it and sit and just get lost in thoughts and nature… in the middle of what is essentially downtown Austin!
The sculptures are fantastic and span the spectrum from renaissance to contemporary to grotesque to macabre to religious to exquisite to simplistic… which is just fantastic! You can find one or two or ten and peruse the form, flow, and context, which I love!
The visitor center, which also doubles as an exhibition gallery, was great! The «Shiva and Eve» exhibit they had with various interpretation of the female form was fantastic!
My only qualm was, and in all fairness this may have been due to it being a «free» wknd, that there were 3 separate parents with very young/​small children running around screaming and even touching and CLIMBING on the sculptures in the garden. This made it very unpleasant to enjoy the ambiance and environment this place was designed for and I could not believe the complete disregard and lack of respect the parents had for others and these art sculptures. Even if there hadn’t been prominently posted signed to NOT touch or climb the sculptures, it is common sense that is NEVER OK! I was honestly appalled that anyone, let alone Austinites would behave this way! I even told the docents in the visitor center and they just kind of shrugged and said «there isn’t a lot we can do». What a sad commentary on Society and it lack of conscience and courtesy!
Umlauf is a wonderful, peaceful abode where you can appreciate art and nature as one… it is not a playground or free babysitter for parents to bring their unruly offspring! There is the Thinkery in Mueller or, better yet, the grounds of Zilker are perfect for just that! Please be respectful of this place and those that are trying to enjoy it next time you visit!

What a beautiful little garden! Enjoyed my walk through it admiring all the sculptures. There’s a gorgeous trail you can take a stroll down and enjoy all the lush greenery!

A small sculpture garden dedicated to the works of Charles Umlauf just next to Barton Springs! Usually, $ 5 for adults, the UMLAUF is free for the summer! So if you’ve been wanting to go, go soon while it’s free! (You can still donate to the museum of course!)
The garden is very pretty and some of the works are incredibly beautiful!

Worth a visit! Lovely garden and wonderful sculptures. Can easily walk through it in 30 min.

Visited the sculptor garden a few years ago and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Beautiful works of art scattered through a idealic garden setting, even has a stream running through it.

Seeing the labor-​intensive process Umlauf used with sketches, models, and molds is worth the price of admission ($ 5). The works themselves range from Expressionism to Realism to Abstraction — which explains why I was knocked down by roughly one-​third of the sculptures.
A friendly volunteer mans the front desk, and informed us about two videos: one was 47 minutes long (we passed), and the other was in a small room, and told about the sculptor’s life and work for 10 minutes. Definitely watch this 10 minute piece to anchor you in the place… you will understand and appreciate the work much more.
A take-​away for me was from watching that short film, when Umlauf himself was interviewed about painting versus sculpting. He pointed out that sculptors always have to be aware of the back — painters only paint one side of anything. Sculptors need to constantly keep the back of the art in mind, so it matches the front, and the front matches the back in three dimensions.
Eat lunch at Chuy’s around the corner, and make an afternoon of it.

The UMLAUF sculptures were beautiful. It was neat to see the progress from his earlier work.
The disappointment was the big rusty moving container in the front that an MFA student was able to play off as art.
I try to keep an open mind and understand that every artist has a reason for what they do but hanging florescent lights and fan motors inside a box is pushing it for me. It doesn’t belong at the garden and really took away from it.
There were also pieces throughout the garden by the same artist that just looked like concrete slabs?
Next to the sculptures it just looked out of place.

Visited here for museum day. Got in free, listened to good music, took a few pictures, called it a day. Pretty place that is decently up kept. Quite a few big sculptures and some small ones as well. Head indoors and it feels like Antarctica, very welcoming on hot Austin days. You’ll spend around an hour here even if you take it slow and sit for a bit, not a huge place. (just an FYI)