The Crying Giant (Delaware Art Museum)

Wilmington, Delaware, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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Crying Giant is a 2002 bronze by Tom Otterness, one of an edition of three that the Delaware Art Museum says were made in response to the events of September 11, 2001. It is on view in the museum's Copeland Sculpture Garden, Wilmington.

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The Crying Giant (Delaware Art Museum)

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Site-level location · 39.7656° N, 75.5646° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Crying Giant, a 2002 bronze by Tom Otterness, is on view among the lawns and woods of the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington, one of three, according to the museum, made after the attacks of 11 September 2001.

The museum's label says Crying Giant is one in an edition of three created in response to the events of September 11, 2001. It describes sculptor Tom Otterness (born 1952) as internationally recognised for playful, figurative sculpture typically installed in busy public spaces such as parks, subway stations and plazas. The museum dates the work to 2002 and bought it in 2004 with the F. V. du Pont Acquisition Fund.

Another cast belongs to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. The City of Fountains Foundation describes that figure as sitting with its head in its hands, in the manner of The Thinker, but plainly upset, and gives its size as 11 feet tall and more than 14 feet deep, weighing almost three tons.

The Delaware museum lists its cast with dimensions of 173 x 132 x 78 inches (439.4 x 335.3 x 198.1 cm).

In Wilmington the figure stands in the Copeland Sculpture Garden, dedicated in 2006 by Tatiana Copeland. The museum says the garden incorporates woods and lawns that were part of the original Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft estate and holds 20 sculptures, along with an 80-foot-diameter labyrinth.

The museum lists opening hours of Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm, with Thursday evenings until 8 pm from April to December.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

An outdoor bronze in the Delaware Art Museum's Copeland Sculpture Garden, among 20 sculptures. The museum lists hours of Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm (Thursdays until 8 pm April to December; closed Monday and Tuesday). Check the museum before visiting.

ACCESS

Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware. The sculpture is in the museum's Copeland Sculpture Garden; the museum lists general admission fees, and free parking behind the museum.

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7.6 km away

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