Metropolitan Sculptures

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York generously loaned twenty-eight modern and contemporary sculptures to Landmarks for display throughout the Austin campus. The collection represents a broad array of artists working in the second half of the twentieth century. The initial sculptures were installed throughout the main campus in September 2008, and a second, smaller group were unveiled at the renovated Bass Concert Hall in January 2009.

Funding for the loan was provided by the Office of the President. This project was the result of a collaborative effort among many, including:

Leadership

Andrée Bober and Landmarks
Pat Clubb and University Operations
Douglas Dempster and the College of Fine Arts
Landmarks Advisory Committee
William Powers and the Office of the President
David Rea and the Office of Campus Planning
Bill Throop and Project Management and Construction Services
Gary Tinterow and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Samuel Wilson and the Faculty Building Advisory Committee

Project Team

Chuck Agro, transportation, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Andrée Bober, curator and director, Landmarks
Caitlin Corrigan, registrar, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cynthia Iavarone, collections manager, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cliff Koeninger, architect
Ricardo Puemape, Project Management and Construction Services
Kendra Roth, conservator, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Patrick Sheehy, installation services
Nicole Vlado, project manager, Landmarks

Special Thanks

Valerie Fletcher, curatorial contributor
Beth Palazzolo, administrative coordination, University Operations
Russell Pinkston, composer

Texas Sculpture Loan
Carol Vogel, The New York Times, 01 August 2008

With the help of the Met, the 360-acre main campus at the University of Texas, Austin, is poised to become a destination for modern sculpture. Rather than let them languish in storage, the museum is lending the university 28 pieces by artists like Beverly Pepper, Tony Smith and Louise Bourgeois. 

New York museum lending sculptures for UT to display
Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, American-Statesman, 02 August 2008

More than two dozen contemporary sculptures from the Metropolitan Museum of Art are headed to the University of Texas campus for long-term exhibit as part of a new public art program, UT announced Friday. 

Metropolitan Museum of Art Loans Sculptures to The University of Texas at Austin for Public Art Project
Staff, Art Daily, 02 September 2008

Th Metropolitan Museum of Art is lending 28 mid- to late -twentieth-century sculptures to The University of Texas at Austin to be installed across campus as part of the university's Landmarks public art program.

Modern and contemporary sculptures bring creative energy to campus in Landmarks public art program
Staff, The University of Texas at Austin News, 22 September 2008

They arrived on campus from New Your City's Metropolitan Museum of Art last month on flatbed trucks and tractor trailers: several towering giants of steel, iron and metal; a triad of tall, stately whip-thin spires; two carved, organic pieces, full of motion in black walnut and cherry wood. 

Sculpture from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Eric Zimmerman, ...might be good, 17 October 2008

Public sculpture, and public art in general, is experiencing a resurgence of sorts. Strategies are diverse and range from traditional public sculpture to social actions and performance projects.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Loans Sculptures to The University of Texas at Austin for Public Art Project

AUSTIN, Texas —The Metropolitan Museum of Art is lending 28 mid- to late -twentieth-century sculptures to The University of Texas at Austin to be installed across campus as part of the university’s Landmarks public art program.

The first group will be installed in September 2008, the second in January 2009. The sculptures are on long-term loan from the Met.

“We are very pleased to make this loan to the University of Texas at Austin campus,” said Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Curator in Charge of the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Nineteenth- Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art. “These large-scale sculptures were intended for outdoor – or very large indoor – spaces, which we do not have available in New York. With the loan of the works to Austin, they will be enjoyed by thousands of university students, staff, and visitors to the university.”

“This important loan of sculptures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art will enrich our campus,” said William Powers Jr., president of The University of Texas at Austin. “It will demonstrate the value we place on art and creativity as manifestations of the human spirit. We are extremely pleased to bring this superb collection to our university and our community.”

Landmarks is a strategic, long-term public art program of the University of Texas at Austin, created to facilitate the complex process of developing a collection for the campus that complements building projects and supports broader university-wide priorities. The program applies a clear curatorial vision to the development of a cohesive collection of public art for the university’s main campus.

“For the first time in its history, the university adopted a comprehensive policy with ongoing support for public art acquisitions,” said Andrée Bober, founding director of Landmarks and initiator of the Met project. “This is the university at its best, thinking big about what it can accomplish and being decisive about shaping its future. The Met loan is key because it provides an art historical framework from which we can build our own stunning collection.”

To ensure a comprehensive approach to building a campus-wide collection, Peter Walker Partners, architects of the Speedway and East Mall reconstruction, donated their services to create a Public Art Master Plan. The plan serves to guide overall public art acquisition and placement in alignment with the Campus Master Plan by Cesar Pelli and Associates, the document which has served as a framework for campus improvement and growth for the past 12 years. The Pelli plan establishes a series of guiding principles with the objective of supporting and embodying a sense of community for students, faculty, and staff to create a sense of place that will remain strong and clear in the memories of graduates while also encouraging public access to and enhanced perception of the campus.

“The installation of the Met collection is a pivotal development that corresponds to Peter Walker’s Public Art Master Plan,” said Pat Clubb, vice president for employee and campus services at the university. “The strategic placement of each piece will inspire interaction among students, faculty, staff and campus visitors.”

Seventeen sculptures will be installed throughout outdoor public spaces and inside several campus buildings in August 2008. There will be an unveiling of the first installation on September 12, preceded by a free public lecture given by Valerie Fletcher, senior curator of Modern Art at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution. The second installation phase will bring 11 pieces to the Bass Concert Hall in January 2009, following the completion of the hall’s renovation.

The loan includes the works of such internationally renowned artists as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Louise Bourgeois, Deborah Butterfield, Anthony Caro, Jim Dine, Donald Lipski, Beverly Pepper, Antoine Pevsner, Tony Smith, and Ursula von Rydingsvard. Several education programs accompany the loan, including a free audio tour podcast and family and teacher resource guides.

“The works will provide a superb teaching collection of twentieth-century sculpture across a wide range of styles and artists,” said Douglas Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “The Metropolitan loan will transform the public art landscape of the UT Austin campus. In one spectacular leap, the university will host one of the leading public art collections among American colleges and universities.”

There are three key initiatives of the Landmarks program: the first is the long-term sculpture loan from the Met. The second involves the purchase or commission of art for building projects on the main campus. These works are supported by a percent-for-art policy that sets aside funds from new construction or major renovation projects specifically for acquisitions.

The third initiative enhances public sites that are not associated with a specific building project. Spaces such as gateways, medians, malls, corridors and Waller Creek have become university-wide priorities. Public art in these locations creates focal points, unifies overlooked areas on campus and ensures an even distribution of works in accordance with the Public Art Master Plan. These works will be funded by private contributions and support from foundations.

Download the press release.

Discover more about the Metropolitan sculptures by visiting the collection pages. 

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Figure on a Trunk, 2000
Willard Boepple, Eleanor at 7:15, 1977
Louise Bourgeois, Eyes, 1982
Deborah Butterfield, Vermillion, 1989
Anthony Caro, Veduggio Glimpse, 1972-1973
Walter Dusenbery, Pedogna, 2007
Raoul Hague, Big Indian Mountain, 1965-1966
Koren Der Harootian, Prometheus and Vulture, 1948
Jim Dine, History of Black Bronze I, 1983
Juan Hamilton, Curve and Shadow, No. 2, 1983
David Hare, The Swan's Dream of Leda, 1962
Hans Hokanson, Source, 1977
Bryan Hunt, Amphora, 1982
Frederick Kiesler, Winged Victory, circa 1951
Donald Lipski, The West, 1987
Seymour Lipton, Guardian, 1975
Seymour Lipton, Pioneer, 1957
Seymour Lipton, Catacombs, 1968
Bernard Meadows, Augustus, circa 1962
Robert Murray, Chilkat, 1977
Eduardo Paolozzi, Figure, circa 1957
Beverly Pepper, Harmonious Triad, 1982-1983
Joel Perlman, Square Tilt, 1983
Antoine Pevsner, Column of Peace, 1954
Peter Reginato, Kingfish: An Homage to Tim Moore, 1986
Tony Smith, Amaryllis, 1965
Ursula von Rydingsvard, Untitled (Seven Mountains), 1986-1988
Anita Weschler, Victory Ball, 1951