The ‘AMOR’ sculpture has been removed temporarily from Sister Cities Park
Following years of UV rays and weather exposure, the Robert Indiana piece will undergo a full restoration
Those around Logan Circle might notice something missing today: Robert Indiana’s bright red AMOR sculpture.
On Wednesday morning, Philadelphia officials removed the artwork — a companion piece to Indiana’s iconic LOVE sculpture at nearby John F. Kennedy Plaza — from its perch at Sister Cities Park on 18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway for conservation and restoration.
Creative Philadelphia, the city’s arts office, said AMOR is scheduled to return on May 1.
“Over the years, the paint on AMOR has naturally faded due to exposure to UV rays and weather,” said Marguerite Anglin, Creative Philadelphia’s public art director. “We are excited to give the sculpture a full restoration treatment, and look forward to its return back to Sister Cities Park in time for the city’s largest celebrations of America’s 250th.”
The removal was overseen by Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and Heritage Conservation Collective LLC. The sculpture was transported to Fine Finishes Painting Studio in Peekskill, NY, where conservators approved by the Robert Indiana Foundation will strip and repaint it.
Indiana created AMOR in 1998 “in response to the changing demographics of the U.S. and his desire to speak to his fellow citizens,” according to the Association for Public Art.
AMOR, meaning “love” in Spanish and Latin, came to Philadelphia in 2015 to mark Pope Francis’s visit, thanks to the aPA and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. On loan from the New York-based Morgan Art Foundation, it was displayed at the top of the museum steps, where it overlooked the papal Mass held on the parkway.
In 2016, it was permanently installed at Sister Cities Park with funding and support from the City of Philadelphia, PMA, aPA, the Morgan Art Foundation, and Edith R. Dixon.