Dawn’s Forest

Southwest Florida Int’l Airport gets major artwork

An intriguing, unusual and important sculpture by noted artist Louise Nevelson has been moved from Florida’s Naples Museum of Art to the Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Ft. Myers.

Nevelson Dawn's Forest

The giant sculpture, Nevelson’s last major work, is called Dawn’s Forest, and is a seven piece, all-white, abstract work made of balsa plywood.

Nevelson Dawn's Forest wide

The work is hard to miss: there’s an 11-foot tall, 26-foot long relief panel, a platform that is 54-foot long by 22-foot tall, three hanging elements and two free-standing columns that are nearly 25 feet tall. Look for it pre-security in the East Atrium between Concourse B and C.

Dawn’s Forest was originally commissioned by the Georgia-Pacific Paper Company, which placed the sculpture in the lobby of the company’s Atlanta headquarters in 1986. After the company’s building underwent remodeling, the Nevelson sculpture went to the Naples Museum of Art, which has given it as a loan to the airport.

There’s at least one other airport that has a piece of art by Louise Nevelson. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has an all-black piece, called Night Flight 1 on the mezzanine, near the airport offices.

Nevelson-at-SEA-