Olmsted in the Arts

Olmsted and his frequent business partner Calvert Vaux believed landscape architecture was a fine art. So, it should come as no surprise that many artists have been inspired by their work. Explore how Olmsted’s landscape designs have informed poetry, music, paintings and more.

Recent News & Articles

Olmsted in the Arts

The Heyday of Visual Art in Prospect

A look at visual art exhibits in Prospect Park from 1984 to 1994.
Olmsted in the Arts

In “Lungs of the City,” Landscape Music Composers Respond to Olmsted Parks

Lungs of the City: Olmsted’s Parks in Music is a concert series of new music for flute, clarinet, horn, percussion, violin, viola, and cello, commemorating the 2022 bicentennial of Frederick Law Olmsted’s birth.
Olmsted in the Arts

FLO’s Connection to Hamilton

Thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hamilton, the Schuyler sisters are quite famous. But did you know they were also connected to Frederick Law Olmsted?
Olmsted in the Arts

FLO The Musical

Guess this musical…. Famous visionary figure, transformational period of American history, enduring legacy. Hamilton? No. It’s The Promise of Central Park.
Carillon bells
Olmsted in the Arts

“Inspired by Olmsted” Winners Announced

NAOP and Olmsted 200 are pleased to share the winners of the “Inspired by Olmsted” carillon composition competition through a press release and the winning pieces through a musical booklet.
Olmsted in the Arts

Early depictions of Central Park and the stories they tell

Roger F. Pasquier, author of Painting Central Park, discusses several early depictions of Central Park.
Olmsted in the Arts

Composers Invited to Submit Original Carillon Compositions Inspired by Olmsted

For centuries, bell towers were used to communicate -- by sounding the hour or alerting to some emergency. These architectural elements have often been a focus for public spaces and many are located in Olmsted landscapes. Some house carillons, musical instruments of at least 23 bronze bells played by a musician from a keyboard. Carillonneurs who play these instruments desire an original musical composition that celebrates the progenitor of these outdoor “concert halls.”
Olmsted in the Arts

Meet Our Olmsted Artist Extraordinaire: David Lee Csicsko

There are many facets to the life and thought of Frederick Law Olmsted, and Chicago artist David Lee Csiscko has brilliantly captured them in the Olmsted portrait gracing our website.
Research & Writings

The Writing Life of Frederick Law Olmsted

Landscape architect and Harvard University professor Sara Zewde on Frederick Law Olmsted’s “Southern Chronicles” and the lessons his writings about slavery teach us today.