The Big Easy stick sculpture by Patrick Dougherty, Duke Gardens, Durham, North Carolina
The Big
Easy
Patrick Dougherty · “The Big Easy”, February 2017, removed 22 August 2018 · South Lawn, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Photo: Bigmacthealmanac / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), taken 25 March 2018, as published on Street Art Utopia
Patrick Dougherty wove “The Big Easy” from red maple and sweetgum saplings cut in Duke Forest, in three weeks of February 2017, with Duke Gardens staff, volunteers and local fans. The sticks were expected to last about two years on the South Lawn. A wet 2018 made the sculpture unstable, and Duke Gardens took it down on 22 August 2018.
5 things to know
- Circus, not shelterOn an open lawn that can be seen from every side, Dougherty wrote that he wanted a work “that spoke less of shelter and more of circus, celebration, and whimsy.” The tops of the towers were suggested by shapes in the gardens, and his favourite, “the headdress on the second figure”, by a potted plant on a nearby walkway. Artist
- Grown in Duke ForestDuke Gardens staff helped collect “several truckloads of branches” from Duke Forest. Flora, the Gardens’ magazine, says Dougherty had been returning to the same places there for 15 years, “often cutting the same stumps over and over again”. He then built for about three weeks with his son, his assistant, volunteers, staff and “Dougherty enthusiasts from Duke and the local community”. Annual Report · Flora
- Shaped while buildingDougherty told a class of visiting Duke art students: “You really do not know what the material can do. That’s one of the better parts of creativity.” Flora says he started from a few rules, “some larval-looking bulges around a central ellipse”, and improvised the rest. Flora
- Meant for two years, gone after 18 monthsThe Gardens expected it to “last through early 2019”, and five volunteers took turns doing repairs. In spring 2018 Dougherty came back to reinforce it. But the Duke Chronicle reports it was removed on 22 August 2018: the saplings had started to deteriorate in an unusually wet year, and moisture in the grass at its base made it unstable. Annual Report · WRAL · Duke Chronicle
- No hidden meaning in the nameVisitors guessed at the title, but the Chronicle says Dougherty “simply wanted a name that seemed light and airy.” Duke Chronicle
Check-in guide
- 📍
- The South Lawn of Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Duke University’s campus in Durham; the Gardens give their address as 420 Anderson St. (Duke Gardens, artist).
- 🧭
- The Maps button points to the camera position stored in the Commons photo above, taken close to the sculpture. It is a phone GPS reading, not a surveyed point.
- 🚫
- There is nothing left to see: the sculpture was taken down on 22 August 2018 (Duke Chronicle).
- 🎨
- Dougherty made earlier works at Duke too, among them “Side Steppin’” for the opening of the Nasher Museum of Art in 2005 (Flora).
Sightings
- 2017Feb
Artist: built
- 201718 Mar
Duke photo on Flickr
- 2017Flora
Gardens magazine
- 201728 Sep
WRAL: still up
- 2017Nov
Blog photos
- 201825 Mar
Commons photo, ours
- 201810 May
WRAL: reinforced
- 201822 Aug
Removed
Every stamp links to the dated source. Green stamps are dated photos or the artist’s own date; amber stamps are reports about the sculpture; the red stamp is the removal date, reported by the Duke Chronicle on 17 October 2018. The Flora stamp is the 2017 issue of Duke Gardens’ magazine.
On the record
Looking back at ‘The Big Easy’
“Although Patrick Dougherty’s sculpture “The Big Easy” was projected to be on display until 2019, it was removed from the Duke Gardens Aug. 22 due to rain damage sustained since its construction in February 2017.”
By Lena Yannella. The student paper adds that Duke Gardens removed it “before it became a safety hazard”, and quotes Dougherty: “I like the idea of temporary generally because I feel like it redirects the viewer back to a more intense viewing experience.”
The Big Easy
“Now that Dougherty’s sculpture is complete, time and the elements will dictate how long it will remain—two years is typical. “You have to take them down while they still look good,” Dougherty says with a chuckle. “The third year is a little rough.””
The Gardens’ magazine also says that at the end of its life the sculpture “will be turned into wood chips and used for mulch at Duke Gardens”.
Spring Blooms: Duke Gardens is bursting with color
“Doughtery recently was at Duke Gardens to give the piece a bit of reinforcement. Kids love playing in and around it.”
By Sarah Lindenfeld Hall; WRAL spells the name “Doughtery”. The newest dated report we found of the sculpture still standing.
02/2017 “The Big Easy,” Sarah P Duke Gardens
“Placed in the open meadow known as the South Lawn, this sculpture can be viewed from all 360 degrees.”
The artist’s own entry gives the size as “approximately 40’ X 20’ and 18’ tall” and the material as “Red maple and sweetgum from Duke Forest”, with photos by Bill Lefevre, Erika Juhlin and Rick Fisher.
The facts
- Artist
- Patrick Dougherty (artist’s site), a sculptor based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Flora, WRAL) Checked
- Title
- “The Big Easy”, on the artist’s site, in Duke Gardens’ Flora and Annual Report, the Duke Chronicle and WRAL Checked
- Built
- February 2017, in about three weeks (artist, Flora, Annual Report, Duke Chronicle) Checked
- Size
- About 40 × 20 feet and 18 feet tall, per the artist; WRAL repeats the same figures Reported
- Builders
- Dougherty with his son, his assistant, Duke Gardens staff and volunteers, students and local fans (Annual Report, Flora, Duke Chronicle) Checked
- Funding
- Flora says the project was “sparked—and made possible—by an anonymous donor”. The Annual Report calls it “the final gift of our dear friend Professor J. Horst Meyer” and dedicates it to his memory Conflicting
- Place
- The South Lawn of Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University, 420 Anderson St., Durham (artist, Flora, Duke Gardens) Checked
- Removed
- 22 August 2018, because the saplings had begun to deteriorate in an unusually wet year; earlier expected to last until early 2019 (Duke Chronicle, Annual Report). Only the Chronicle gives the date Reported
- Afterwards
- Flora said in 2017 that the sticks would become mulch for the Gardens. No source says whether that happened Unconfirmed
- Photo
- By Bigmacthealmanac, taken 25 March 2018 per the file date and camera data, uploaded to Commons in 2020. The caption only reads “Patrick Dougherty sculpture 1”; its GPS point lies inside Duke Gardens (Commons) Checked
- Status
- Gone. Taken down on 22 August 2018; the newest dated report of it standing is from 10 May 2018 Reported
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: When Nature Becomes Art (10 Photos vol. 5) (5 October 2026), where the photo above appeared as work no. 9.
- The three Dougherty stickworks still up in the Triangle in September 2017, this one included, and three that were “once family favorites”. WRAL
- How The Big Easy was built, told by Duke Gardens’ own magazine. Flora 17
- The artist’s own archive of his stickworks. stickwork.net
All sources (10)
This sculpture
- Patrick Dougherty: “02/2017 -The Big Easy-, Sarah P Duke Gardens, Duke University, Durham, NC”, the artist’s own site, undated. Date, place, size, materials, his intent, the headdress, photo credits.
- Duke Gardens: Flora 17 magazine, 2017 issue (Flora ’17, Issue No. 61; PDF dated 29 June 2017); article “Weaving a Dream” by Katherine Hale, Duke Gardens intern (Flora editor: Orla Swift). Saplings from Duke Forest, three weeks, crew, anonymous donor, South Lawn, quotes to Duke art students, two-year life span, mulch plan, April 2017 stick-weaving workshop.
- Duke Gardens: Annual Report FY17, PDF dated 5 January 2018. Truckloads of branches, son and assistant, gift of Professor J. Horst Meyer, “should last through early 2019”, volunteer repair team.
- The Duke Chronicle: “Looking back at ‘The Big Easy’”, 17 October 2018, by Lena Yannella. Removed 22 August 2018, rain damage, horticulture director Robert Mottern, origin of the name, Dougherty quotes.
- WRAL: “Amazing stick-built sculptures: Chapel Hill to get next tree sapling structure”, 28 September 2017 (updated 25 July 2018), by Sarah Lindenfeld Hall. Lists The Big Easy among works “still up in the Triangle”; usual two-year life span.
- WRAL: “Spring Blooms: Duke Gardens is bursting with color”, 10 May 2018, by Sarah Lindenfeld Hall. Dougherty had recently reinforced the sculpture.
Dated photos
- Wikimedia Commons: “Patrick Dougherty sculpture 1”, by Bigmacthealmanac, taken 25 March 2018 (file date and EXIF), uploaded 12 October 2020, CC BY-SA 4.0, GPS 36.001192, -78.935297. The photo on this page.
- Flickr, Duke University: “A view of “The Big Easy,” a sculpture by Patrick Dougherty”, uploaded 18 March 2017; photo by Duke Gardens curator Paul Jones.
- Cheryl Capaldo Traylor: “Not Your Childhood Stick Figures–Art in Duke Gardens”, blog post, 21 November 2017; “All photos taken November 2017”.
The place
- Sarah P. Duke Gardens: Visit, current page. “Our GPS address is 420 Anderson St., Durham, N.C., 27705”.
Artwork File · Last checked 5 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files