Cullen Sculpture Garden

If you want to come here you should take your friends with you. They sure will find here a lot of interesting places to make a bunch of memorable photos. I love walking into this place. At the same time constantly I get great pleasure from this. Sometimes I can mentally relax, read out sitting on a bench in the park and do not notice how fast the time flies.

Tables and Chairs. Outdoor Benches. Sculptures all around for inspiration. This is an awesome spot to work out of in a nice day like today

This is such a wonderful and peaceful place. On a sunny, cool day, it’s ideal for enjoying lunch, a cup of coffee, and a casual stroll through the sculptures. I’ve also done photoshoots here and it makes a great backdrop.

Very cool (and free) sculpture garden just behind the Museum of Fine Arts Houston!
Open daily between 9 am and 10 pm. Pieces by Louise Bourgeois, Dan Graham, Henri Matisse, Auguste Rodin, and David Smith!

There is free parking at the church and just walk next door to check out the Sculpture Garden on the way to the other museums. The garden is fairly small and has a handful of sculptures. I’ve been several times over the course of the years and the sculptures havent seemed to change. There are a few tables and chairs near the front of the garden for those who want to enjoy lunch outdoors.

Makes for a nice stroll before or after going to the museum. Also is a great spot to have lunch. Too bad they don’t have food trucks on Thurs night when the museum is open late. Otherwise, you can find the food trucks between 11 – 3. Make sure to save your receipt in order to get free admission to the museum after eating if you go into it between 12 – 2.

Great spot to stroll after a good museum exhibit. Very peaceful and the sculptures are varied and beautiful. It does get hot though, so bring some water, some shades and enjoy the view.

A quaint place to escape and enjoy some salubrious sunshine. The works of art are timeless and inspiring. No food allowed (go to nearby Bell Park to picnic)!

One of the most overlooked gems in Houston. Quiet and serene I myself tend to forget this place is here. This is a great place for a quiet lunch time or afternoon walk; it is a great place to take your kids and little relatives to culture them up a little bit. If anything… it is Free.99.
In the last year or so the museum has allowed a sectioned off area for food trucks to park and serve up during the lunch hours. There is enough room for two trucks! On the side of the road where the entrance is there is a chalk board with who is there at that time. It works well because as you enter the sculpture garden on the Bissonnet side there is a group of bistro style tables and chairs for people to enjoy their food truck cuisine.
Culture, food trucks, and free entertainment? Why not go more often?

This a gem in Houston! A really great sculpture exhibit with pieces from Rodin and Matisse. So nice that Houston has big name artists in a free to explore arena! My husband and I try to visit the Sculpture Garden at least a few times a year while the weather is nice. We learned our first year in Houston that going midday in August was a sweaty, uncomfortable, and hot idea. Yes, I chose those adjectives on purpose.
Lovely place and bring cold water to enjoy the pieces at ease :)

A free, slightly hidden sculpture garden with lots of seating and some shade… what’s not to love? I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and took art classes at Glassell. I realized quite young that I had zero artistic ability but still had a good time in the classes. I enjoyed then and still enjoy the Cullen sculpture garden. I love that some of the art has stayed the same for decades. The large kinetic sculpture centrally located is one of my favorites. I love sitting on the bench and watching it spin in the wind.
The sculptures are varied from classic sculptures to more modern ones. There are some made of glass, stone, bronze, etc… Some are inspired by and obviously realistic and others are completely abstract. I love the variety.
Parking can be found in several of the side streets for free or you can park in the MFAH lot next door or the garage. If you are at any of the art museums, make sure to make a stop in this lovely sculpture garden.

Love this place. A few good memories have been made here.
This garden is right across from where I work at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and it’s a great place to take your lunch break or to just go on a short stroll when going to & from the different institutions in the Museum District.
I had no problem with the traffic noise when I had lunch here with my boyfriend during my break. Then again, this was during lunch hour & not rush hour so that probably helped a lot. I agree that the security here can be off-​putting (MFAH is really well known for that), but if you’re here with one other person having a great conversation, they’re pretty easy to ignore. Like what everyone else has said, it’s a great tiny oasis in the middle of such a busy intersection.
The sculptures are all lovely & the layout of the garden has a spot for everyone to enjoy. There is sitting built along some of the walls, stone platforms where you can also sit, tables & chairs for eating, benches, and even small hill mounds with nice shade from the trees where you can probably set up a blanket.
I think I’m pretty much just gonna have my lunch breaks here as long as the weather will permit. It’s definitely beats the small, dark kitchen in the CAMH basement.

Photography alert. There’s a glass cube sculpture here that makes for some wicked photos.

I didn’t ever realize that this little oasis was amidst all of the other museums. It’s really well hidden behind the massive walls separating it from Montrose and Bissonnet. It’s next to the Glassel School of Art in case you are wondering!
It’s very serene in this little park. There are a handful of sculptures from different artists. Some were gifts and some were paid for (there is a Matisse).
You know it’s a calm place to be when you see 5 squirrels in one patch of grass. There are plenty of benches and tables to sit at while you enjoy your time. I saw several employees and students sitting with sketch pads and coffee cups, just day dreaming.
This is an essential part of the MFAH family and I love that it’s free!

This is one of my favorite places in the Museum District, because again it’s free. I usually give it a good walk through on my way to Hermann Park. The exterior walls are high so it secludes you from the busy street outside, instantly calming.
There is usually security here to make sure you don’t touch anything. Even though it’s outside it’s not quite a park, so its not made for your children to climb on.
I wish I had been around when the place opened in 1986, John Cage premered a composition at the opening. I’m sure it couldn’t top his carpet squares or 4:33, but I’m sure it was an interesting experience. Sorry for the nerd talk, but John Cage is just a wacky guy.
This is a great place to take pictures if you looking for a location for your Senior or Engagement session.

This is a calm, peaceful space. A nice place to be by yourself and reflect, contemplate, sit, wander, plot, write a letter or post card to a long lost friend, read, snack, or pass through on your way from the Glassell to the MFAH across the street.
Sculpture gardens are like that, well mostly. The other two that I’m familiar with are the Hirshorn at the Smithsonian (yes, I am addicted) and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden in Austin. The former is too congested with well-​known sculptures, while the latter is a bit out of the foot-​traffic way. Cullen is accessible, yet hidden. Each sculpture has it’s own breathing room. It’s a mini-​sanctuary for those who know about it, or those who wander past the «random gate over there.»
Many people frown upon the excessive use of clean lines made with basic building materials in Houston’s structures that house art. I laud them. Here simple perfection is beauty; light, space, and art are the main focal points.
I won’t go into a dissertation-​length essay on sculpture (one of my absolute favorite types of art to look at and make), but you reader, yes you, just need to go wander through this space. It’s modern outdoor sculpture, so if you need that sort of warning, there you go. Oh, and like Olivia’s son, I too wanted to touch a few of the sculptures. I almost touched the pretty one that spun with the wind, «Oh IT touched MY arm,» but I refrained. It took much restraint. Perhaps I’ll go tomorrow and say that I was just getting the bird poo off of it.

FREE sculpture garden.
Yeah…I don’t know much about art or museums. I’m still a rookie and learning the ways. But I do know FREE.
I came here on a recent journey through the museum district. It was nice to enter without any people bothering me. I was able to move through the garden at my pace and take as many pictures as I wanted. Seemed like a very relaxing area.

I was SO disappointed in the security staff here. I love art. I want my children to have the same appreciation of it that I have. However, it is very hard for them to relate happily to anything when they are being stalked by a giant ding-​dong. (not like an abstract art ding-​dong, more like the jackass security guards who make a living making others feel uncomfortable)
Anywho…We arrived early in the afternoon and I told the kids (6 and 2 years old) not to touch the art. Every time we moved from one piece to another the security staff (2 guys) followed us around. The two year old accidentally set one foot in the grass and the security guard told me to get him off the grass. The older boy did touch a piece with one finger (like ET phoning home, really) just to see how it felt and the security guard was right there before I could even tell the boy to stop.
I respect art and the artist. However, I would say that these pieces are so accessible. It is hard for a kid not to touch/​climb/​molest them in so many unimaginable ways. But, all in all my kids (for once in their short lives) were actually being good. Plus, if the issue with not touching them is related to changing the patina then I would argue that all the bird poop on the art could also mar the patina.
Something similar happened to us at MFA-​H and my husband doesn’t even want me taking the kids back there (and NO my kids did not touch the works of art in the museum) Art security has NO idea how to balance keeping the works safe and welcoming a learning experience for all.
We literally ran the gauntlet to see each piece and have light discussion and then I told them that we had to go. When my kids asked, «why», I said, «we are probably going to get kicked out.» «Why» again, the kids asked. «Because they are nazi’s», was my reply.

I love sculptures. This was easy to find, next to the parking lot for the Museum of Fine Arts, across the street from the museum. What makes this unusual is there is also an auditory display throughout the garden of sounds and voices.
There was a little man sitting on a folding chair in the corner, I thought he was one of the displays then I saw him talking to a museum worker. He must be security for the sculptures.
Place wasn’t large and easy to walk thru.

An outdoor sculpture museum, the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden is a lovely place to be up close and personal to art and nature at the same time.
More than 20 beautiful sculptures dot the landscape in this acre of garden. The sculpture garden is an extension of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
Wandering through here, you can achieve a tranquility in the heart of the city and gain a new appreciation for this exhibit of art in the sunshine.
Go here for moments when you want life to slow down a little bit and appreciate the world around you.