Opus 40

Created over 37 years by pioneering artist and professor Harvey Fite, Opus 40 is a nonprofit sculpture park, museum and artistic environment with 63 acres of meadows, historic quarrying trails and bluestone quarries — centered on 6.5 acres of earthwork sculpture. Bard College Professor Fite hand-sculpted Opus 40 entirely from bluestone harvested on site, fusing the legacy of local quarrying and ancient Mayan and Aztec stonework learned through his travels. He framed his stonework sculpture with the surrounding woods and mountains, ensuring the local ecosystem would always be central to the impact of this Natural Historic Register site. An artisanal studio/home overlooking the sculpture, created by Fite in the late 1930s, and a series of freestanding bluestone sculptures and fountains complete the large artistic environment at the center of the site. Guests can experience the site for day-visits, guided tours, classes and workshops, or a vibrant season of live performance. “One of the largest and most beguiling works of art on the entire continent.” — Architectural Digest