Most beautiful sculptures at zoos ?

There is something worth mentioning. There are sculptures which are artistically good, and ones which are just kitsch. Compare this horse in Poznan zoo with this rather tacky frog. I feel that a zoo, due to its connection with children and education, should also pay attention and deliver good art, if possible.

 

Here are a few more photos of the Lacerte Family Children's Zoo at Dallas Zoo:





All photos taken by geomorph.

 

Elephants!

San Diego Zoo's Safari Park:



Dallas Zoo:





Audubon Zoo:







Six Flags Discovery Kingdom:



Utah's Hogle Zoo:





All photos taken by geomorph.

 

These are great ! Thanks for sharing @geomorph !

Are those racoon sculptures in the second picture ?

 

Yes, I do think that you have a point there but the thing is that kitsch is a very subjective criteria and one persons kitsch is invariably another persons preferred art / aesthetic.

Personally I really like bronze animal sculpture and stone sculpture with an element of realism in the pose and general portrayal of the animal.

 

Thanks for sharing @geomorph !

I like all of these except the last two, though I admit the colour tile elephant looks interesting.

 

Thanks! I really like how they're blended in to the walkway.

 

Lion sculpture at the Maryland zoo, USA. This particular lion is based on the renaissance era marble sculptures comissioned by the Medici family in the 1600's and now seen in the city of Florence, Italy:
Polar bear sculpture at the Maryland zoo, USA:

Penguin sculptures at the Maryland zoo, USA:


Photo credits to @snowleopard and @blospz.

 

Warthog sculptures at the Living Desert, USA:



Photo credits to @snowleopard

 

Badger sculptures at Dierenrijik Europe, the Netherlands:

Fox sculpture at Woodland park zoo (portrayed entering the penguin enclosure) , USA:

International wolf center wolf pack statues, USA:

Wolf pup statues at Woodland park zoo, USA:

Otter with fish prey sculpture / fountain at Berlin tierpark, Germany:


Photo credit to @vogelcommando, @Arizona Docent, @Maguari and @snowleopard.

 

Yes I think so!

 

They are great little sculptures and look about life size too.

 

Not beautiful but certainly interesting, abstract elephant sculpture at zoo Kobenhaven, Denmark:



Photo credits to @devilfish.

 

Signage at the Bronx zoo about the history of the 1907 sculpture competition at the zoo:


The sculptures themselves that still grace the outside of the zoo center to this day:



Photo credit to @ThylacineAlive, @Zebraduiker and @geomorph.

 

There are sculptures inside the building as well, including one of the Sumatran Rhinoceros bust similar to the one shown above. All of the Astor Court buildings have similar sculptures carved into them representing the original occupants the buildings were designed for, including various birds, big cats, and primates. The zoo's reptile house located nearby also has similar sculptures adorning it of, from memory, a repeating pattern of alligator, turtle, and bullfrog.

Of course, there are also the famous Indian Rhinoceros statues outside the old elephant house, now the Zoo Center, and the panther statues lining the staircase leading from the original zoo entrance into Astor Court.

Not sure if this thread is counting fountains, but the original zoo entrance is home to the Rockefeller Fountain, built in the 1870's and originally exhibited in Como, Italy.





~Thylo

 

Thanks for your comment @ThylacineAlive ! Much appreciated !

Oh really ? Wow, I hadn't realised that the bust was of a Sumatran rhino, simply thought it was an Indian rhino but now you mention it it seems quite obvious now.

It would be awesome to see some of those other sculptures, I think they are brilliantly done and of great historic value too.

Don't think I've covered the panther sculptures yet and I'm not sure there are any shots of these in the gallery but have covered those incredible Indian rhino sculptures.

Beautiful fountain indeed and thank you for sharing the picture of it.

 

You're welcome

The bust you shared a photo of is an Indian Rhino, but inside the building there are more busts, one of which is of a Sumatran Rhino. I've got a photo of the bust somewhere and will make an attempt to post it one of these days (I am so very backed up on photo uploads...). I might have photos of the World of Reptile busts as well.

I'm not sure if there are photos of the panther statues on here. If there aren't, I can try and remedy that someday.

~Thylo

 

As someone from the 'less is more' school of thought, I do find something likable about this one. It's what you might expect from modern Scandinavia, perhaps on sale in IKEA as a garden ornament called 'väldig'!

 

Photo taken at Chester in September 2016. I remember little about them apart from thinking them a tad garish, and I took the photo because they depicted my favourite animal. They look as though they're made from some sort of material - plastic? - stretched over a frame. I couldn't snap the whole group as there were children playing round them.

 

Yes, me too, I think it has a sort of Picasso line drawing type look to it doesn't it ?