Des Moines Reaches Deal With Artist to Ditch Installation

A nationally known outdoor artwork will be removed from a park pond in Des Moines under a settlement announced Tuesday, ending a legal fight between the New York artist who created the work decades ago and a local art center that argued it couldn't afford needed repairs to the site. Under the agreement, the Des Moines Art Center will pay $900,000 to artist Mary Miss, who will end her effort to block removal of her work, Greenwood Pond: Double Site, per the AP. The art center will remove the work as soon as possible, though efforts could be delayed by Iowa's winter weather. More:

• The project's history: Greenwood Pond: Double Site was completed in 1996 on the shores of a pond in a historic city park just west of downtown Des Moines. The artwork, located down a hill from the art center, is made up of wooden walkways, trellises, and viewing sites that encourage people to see and interact with nature. Although known locally as a spot for picnics and family photos, the artwork was celebrated nationally and seen as a career high point for Miss, a rare female artist in the male-dominated field of landscape architecture.

• The lawsuit: Since its creation, the largely wooden artwork has needed periodic repairs due to Iowa's frigid winters and hot, humid summers. However, Miss was surprised when the art center blocked access to some parts of the work in early 2024 and then informed her it would be removed because of the multi-million-dollar maintenance costs. Miss expressed optimism the work could be saved and ultimately filed a lawsuit to block its removal, noting her contract with the art center required her approval to tear out the structures. "I would be shocked if it was just torn out," Miss said in February 2024. "It doesn't deserve it."

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• Artist statement: In a statement following the agreement, Miss expressed hope that the dispute would encourage tighter bonds between artists, communities, and cultural institutions. Miss will be the first donor to a new Public Art Advocacy Fund created by the Cultural Landscape Foundation to highlight and preserve landscape art.
• Center statement: The art center released a statement confirming the agreement but didn't respond to a request for details about its timeline for removing the artwork. The center earlier announced plans for a roughly three-month process of bringing heavy equipment to the site, draining the pond to allow access to infrastructure, and building new paths.

(More Des Moines stories.)