Hudson River Museum Acquires Maya Lin’s The Hudson Bight for Permanent Collection
Hudson River Museum Acquires Maya Lin’s The Hudson Bight for Permanent Collection
Monumental sculpture by Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Maya Lin is now on view as a centerpiece of the Museum’s collection.
YONKERS, NY, October 16, 2026 — The Hudson River Museum is proud to announce the acquisition of The Hudson Bight by acclaimed artist, architectural designer, and environmental advocate Maya Lin, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and the National Medal of Arts. Widely regarded as one of the most influential American artists of her generation, Lin has cultivated a multidisciplinary practice that bridges art, architecture, science, and environmental stewardship.
Originally created as the site-specific centerpiece of the HRM’s acclaimed 2018–19 solo exhibition Maya Lin: A River Is a Drawing, The Hudson Bight transforms scientific data into a single monumental hanging sculpture that reveals the hidden underwater landscape connecting the Hudson River to the Atlantic Ocean. The acquisition secures for the Museum’s permanent collection a work by one of the foremost artists of our time and reinforces the HRM’s commitment to exploring the intersection of art, science, and the environment.
The Hudson Bight, which Lin conceived as a “drawing in space,” has been suspended dramatically in the Museum’s Atrium, with the wire-mesh sculpture cascading into the galleries below, translating advanced topographic imaging and sonar mapping into an immersive work of art. Inspired by a 2018 U.S. Geological Survey expedition, the artwork maps an underwater plateau that extends more than 100 miles offshore before descending into the Hudson Canyon.
“We could not be more honored to steward this extraordinary work by Maya Lin,” said Masha Turchinsky, HRM’s Anita K. Hersh Director and CEO. “Throughout her career, Lin has inspired people to experience the world differently, revealing the connections between history, place, and the environment. While the Hudson Canyon is a natural wonder that exists below the surface of water, Maya Lin’s work exemplifies the power of art to make the invisible visible, inspiring curiosity, wonder, and a deeper understanding of our relationship to the natural world.”
Maya Lin stated: “My work has always been finding the art in the natural world and my focus on rivers is because, from an environmental view, they are our lifeblood; without them we couldn’t survive. I’m trying to get people to see things that are quite literally under their feet but they had no idea were there. Having The Hudson Bight find its home at the Hudson River Museum is the perfect continuum for the work we began with my exhibition A River Is a Drawing, for which The Hudson Bight was originally erected and to which it has now returned as part of the Museum’s permanent collection.”
About Maya Lin
Maya Lin (American, b. 1959) is internationally renowned for her environmental artworks, architectural works, and memorial designs. Her singular career has defied disciplinary boundaries, combining art, architecture, science, and ecology to explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world. First emerging in the public eye through her award-winning Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lin has created landmark works including the Civil Rights Memorial and the ongoing environmental project What Is Missing? Her work has been exhibited worldwide and is held in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Obama Presidential Center. In recognition of her extraordinary contributions to American culture, Lin received the National Medal of Arts in 2009 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. She is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Press contact:
Jeana Wunderlich
jwunderlich@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x240
Samantha Hoover
shoover@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x216
Image: Maya Lin (American, b. 1959). The Hudson Bight, 2018. Aluminum. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist and Pace Gallery, 2026 (2026.2).
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About the Hudson River Museum
The Hudson River Museum is a preeminent, award-winning cultural institution in Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area. Situated on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York, the Museum has a mission to engage, inspire, and connect diverse communities through the power of the arts, sciences, and history.
The HRM offers engaging experiences for every age and interest, with an ever-evolving collection of American art and dynamic exhibitions that range from nineteenth-century paintings to contemporary art installations. The campus, which recently expanded to include a West Wing with stunning exhibition galleries and sweeping views of the Hudson River, features Glenview, an 1877 house on the National Register of Historic Places; a state-of-the-art planetarium; an environmental teaching gallery; and an outdoor amphitheater. The Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting its multidisciplinary offerings, which are complemented by an array of public and educational programs that encourage creative expression, collaboration, and artistic and scientific discovery. The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM), an honor awarded to only 3% of museums nationwide.
Museum Hours: The Hudson River Museum is open to the public Wednesday–Friday, from 12–5pm, and Saturday–Sunday, from 11am–5pm. On Free First Fridays, the Museum is open and free of charge on the first Friday of the month, from 5–8pm. The Museum is accessible by Metro-North (Hudson Line—Yonkers and Glenview stations), by Bee-Line Bus Route #1, by car, and by bike.
General Admission: Adults $15; Youth (3–18) $8; Seniors (65+) $9; Students (with valid ID) $9; Veterans $9; Children (under 3) FREE; Members FREE; Museums for All* $2, *SNAP/EBT card with photo ID (up to 4 people). Planetarium Tickets: Adults $8; Youth (3–18) $6; Seniors (65+) $7; Students (with valid ID) $7; Veterans $7; Children (under 3) Free. Glenview Tours: Adults $8; Youth (3–18) $6; Seniors (65+) $7; Students (with valid ID) $7; Veterans $7; Children (under 3) Free.
