AMOR Sculpture By Robert Indiana May Get Permanent Home in Philly

That’s AMOR, eh?

The LOVE Sculpture by Robert Indiana is up there with the Liberty Bell and the cheesesteak for ubiquitous icons of Philadelphia-ness. And it may soon have a permanent Spanish-language partner just a few blocks up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. 

Next week, the Philadelphia Art Commission will consider accepting Indiana’s AMOR sculpture from 1998 as a permanent fixture in Sister Cities Park. The sculpture was temporarily placed in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art when Pope Francis came to Philadelphia last fall, and it sat there until earlier this year.

“It appears that now, just as in the 1970s when LOVE was to leave after a similar temporary exhibit, that a way has been found to enable AMOR to remain in the City permanently,” Art Commission Director William Burke said in an email.

Burke said the request was made by Margot Berg, the city’s public art director. Berg said she would talk about the sculpture and its placement after the Art Commission meets next week.

The LOVE sculpture was installed in JFK Plaza in Center City in 1976, then briefly removed before being put back, according to Visit Philadelphia. The statue is so iconic that Philadelphians hardly call it JFK Plaza any more. Now we know it as LOVE Park.

At the moment, the LOVE sculpture is across the street in Dilworth Park, while LOVE Park gets a makeover.

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