In the 1860s Charles Baudelaire and Édouard Manet would meet daily for walks through the Tuileries, the lively centre of Paris, where the gardens’ fountains and flowers were of only secondary importance to the concerts it hosted and the characters who came to listen. Manet’s Music in the Tuileries Gardens (1862) allows a glimpse into this period, the shiny black top hats of society men standing tall like tar-dipped calla lilies in the thick crowd, enjoying themselves among the fashionable urban public.

This summer, Auckland Botanic Gardens invites visitors to enjoy an array of contemporary New Zealand art within an atmosphere reminiscent of the Tuileries with Sculpture in the Gardens, back from a three-year hiatus with a line-up of sixteen newly commissioned artworks. The selection is curated by Linda Tyler, Terry Urbahn and Catherine Hamilton, and includes works by early-career and award-winning artists, many of whom respond to their natural surroundings.

Sculpture in the Gardens is free to visit and accompanied by a programme of events taking place throughout the season, as well as an exhibition at Huakaiwaka Indoor Gallery, featuring smaller works and maquettes from over thirty-five artists. Bring a picnic, a frisbee and a sunhat, and act like Manet’s watching.