The DeCordova Collection of Art and Culture Beckons

About 20 miles outside of Boston, in Lincoln, Massachusetts, stands the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. It's a lovely place, set on 35 acres of rolling woodland that treats visitors to a ever-changing outdoor array of approximately 75 large-scale pieces by American sculptors, all vying with Mother Nature's own unique works of landscape art. Move indoors and you can savor the DeCordova's permanent, 3,200-piece collection of modern and contemporary American art -- it's known for its superb New England collection -- or one of its temporary exhibitions. This fall, railroad buffs who also happen to be art connoisseurs, or vice versa, will take particular pleasure in "Trainscape: Installation Art for Model Railroads," which the DeCordova is now showcasing in its Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery until January 13, 2008.

The Trainscape show, featuring 14 New England artists working singly or in teams, presents a series of miniature worlds built around topics ranging from poetry to architecture to history, geography, philosophy, abstraction, and humor. Described as a reflection of the current trend in the art world to explore alternate realities and escape from a real world deemed unpleasant, the exhibition connects the parallel universes via an O-scale model railroad that chugs through the display and physically unites the disparate landscapes.

Back outside, a visitor might well conclude that a stroll through the DeCordova grounds is worth the $9 price of admission ($6 for seniors, students, and youngsters 6 to 12; 5 and under enter free). Once the home of successful tea broker and merchant Julian de Cordova and his socially prominent wife Elizabeth Dana, the estate contains the couple's early-1900 brick mansion set on a promontory overlooking Flint's Pond and a carriage house. The mansion, known as the "castle," has been remodeled to house the museum's permanent art collection, while the carriage house contains studios, classrooms, and the administrative offices.

But it is the sculpture park's juxtaposition of art and nature that can take a visitor's breath away. Divided into nine sections, ranging from wetlands to sculptured terraces to open fields and gardens, the park is dotted with significant pieces from the DeCordova Museum's permanent collection, such as works by Alexander Liberman and George Rickey; temporary sculptures and installations, some of which are constructed of site-specific natural materials; and a rotating group of large sculptures borrowed from artists, collectors, and dealers. At present, visitors can view important works by Paul Matisse (The Musical Fence), Chakaia Booker (The Conversationalist and No More Milk and Cookies), Jim Dine (Two Big Black Hearts), and Celeste Roberge (Long Red Stack), to name but a few.

The DeCordova merits a visit any time of year, but its outdoor component makes it especially appealing in the fall. In keeping with the featured Trainscape exhibition, why not board an Amtrak train to Boston's North, South, or Back Bay station and see for yourself the beauty that awaits? You can locate the best route from your town to Boston at http://www.amtrak.com. And from Boston to Lincoln, you can continue your journey by train, if you choose, hopping aboard the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Fitchburg commuter line. Once in Lincoln, the DeCordova Museum is less than a two-mile walk on a beautiful autumn day. Alternatively, Sunshine Taxi Cab in nearby Concord (978-369-1752) will gladly give you a lift.

Ruth Hlavacek is a writer and editor based in New Jersey.  Check out all her travel writing in the All Aboard!