Since opening in 1960, Storm King’s sustainable land and viewshed management practices, as well as partnerships with leading environmental organizations in the Hudson Valley, have led to significant conservation achievements. As the museum has grown, its landscape has been gradually altered to accommodate and enhance the collection, frame vistas, and encourage movement.

Since its local completion in 1954, the New York State Thruway has had an indelible impact on the creation of Storm King Art Center. A powerful symbol of modernist expansion, the Thruway helped shape the evolution of the Art Center’s site, which includes agriculture, manufacturing, land reclamation, and other historic influences. With its dynamic presence, the energy of the Thruway continues to be part of the art experience at Storm King.

In this online feature, archival photographs and text illuminate historical touch points between Smith’s singular engagement with sculpture and landscape, and his enduring legacy at Storm King. For a list of sculptures by David Smith in Storm King’s collection, please visit our web page on the artist.

As a curator and art enthusiast, Dorothy Mayhall cultivated relationships with many artists, which led to a spirited atmosphere on-site, experimental happenings, and creative acquisitions to Storm King's collection.