Sculptures in the garden - Waddesdon Manor

I was quite overwhelmed by the house and gardens at Waddesdon - so it was quite a pleasure to discover an amazing range of diverse sculptures dotted around the massive gardens. Apparently Christie's chose a selection of indoor and outdoor installations to comemmorate a recent Rothschild acquisition of Chardin’s painting, depicting a boy building a house of cards.

We did not find all 33 works but were extremely impressd by some great names; Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Anthony Gormley, Urs Fischer and Anish Kapoor. Apparently, quite a few are for sale at crazy prices!

So it was fun to walk and recognise these greats - I really wanted to lie down beside Antony Gormley to appreciate the house and gardens. This life size iron man looks tiny in comparison to its surroundings and it is also quietly reminiscent of the new sculpture standing atop of Exeter College in Oxford.

Previously, I had seen this bright red LOVE sculpture on the busy streets of New York - so it was fun to see it again in a small sunny courtyard with the more traditional statues of love; Cupid and his mother, a classic pair of young lovers and another of two young brothers; and surrounded by sub tropical palms and small banana trees...

So I almost had to be dragged home - and my final sight of the manor was complemented by this disorienting yet fantastical sculpture by the Swiss artist Urs Fischer 'Bad Timing Lamb Chop!' I felt like Alice leaving her Wonderland and simultaneously as if I was closing the wardrobe door on Narnia.