Ousted Kennedy Center chairperson buys dismantled ‘Blue’ sculpture
David Rubenstein, a billionaire philanthropist, purchased the abstract sculpture for display at the National Gallery of Art.
Billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein has purchased the abstract sculpture called Blue that was removed from the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts last week, according to two people familiar with the sale.
It will eventually be displayed in the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Art, the people said.
Rubenstein, a major arts donor, was chairperson of the Kennedy Center’s board until he was ousted in early 2025 during President Donald Trump’s takeover. He is the chairperson of the board of trustees at the National Gallery.
He purchased the sculpture from a foundation dedicated to its artist, Joel Shapiro, which received the artwork after its removal. One of the people familiar with the sale said the price was more than $2 million.
Since 2019, the 24-foot-tall, stick-figure-like sculpture stood on the grounds of the Reach, an addition to the Kennedy Center that was partly funded by Rubenstein, who co-founded private equity giant the Carlyle Group. The sculpture was deinstalled with no prior notice or explanation from the institution, drawing a flurry of questions and objections from local patrons who considered it a landmark overlooking the Potomac River.
Representatives for the National Gallery did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and it was not clear when Blue would go on display.
The Kennedy Center board has voted to close for a two-year, $250 million renovation project championed by Trump. But officials have proposed that the Reach remain open, partly to serve as an active memorial to President John F. Kennedy, which is required by law.
Shapiro, who died in 2025, had given the sculpture to the Kennedy Center as a gift for the opening of the Reach. After it was deinstalled, it was transferred to the artist’s foundation, which is run by his daughter Ivy Shapiro.
Ivy Shapiro did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the purchase. She said last week that her father would have been “alarmed” by the sculpture’s removal from the Kennedy Center, where it had been originally intended as a permanent fixture.
The aluminum sculpture, painted a vivid blue, was designed to look like a person mid-kick while dancing on the grass.
“In Joel’s mind, it was one of his greatest site-specific commissions, which celebrated joy, freedom, and creativity,” Shapiro said last week.
Trump, who replaced Rubenstein as chairperson of the Kennedy Center board after stacking it with loyalists, has been pushing for months to close the building for renovations that he and his allies say are desperately needed.
The closure was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, who also rejected the board’s decision to add Trump’s name to the center’s official title. The center’s officials are now seeking to persuade the judge to allow for the closure and for the president’s name to be inscribed on the building’s marble facade, in recognition of his role in securing money from Congress for the renovations.
This weekend, officials at the center intensified their push for a closure, alerting the public to a hole in the ceiling of the building’s Grand Foyer that they said was caused by recent storms.
This article originally appeared in the New York Times.
