Plan to keep a Rocky statue at the top of the Art Museum steps moves forward

Keep punching, Rocky.

Creative Philadelphia’s proposal to permanently install a Rocky statue at the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum’s famed steps is one step closer to reality following a Philadelphia Art Commission meeting Wednesday, though the plan fell short of receiving final approval following a mixed vote. Three commissioners voted to approve the concept, while one disapproved and two abstained.

And, in perhaps bigger news to supporters, if the plan goes through, the screen-used statue that sits at the bottom of the Art Museum steps would be moved to the top thanks to what appears to be a change of heart from the Italian Stallion himself, Sylvester Stallone. Initially, the city planned to give the original statue back to Stallone, who gifted it to Philadelphia decades ago, and keep the other casting that now sits at the top of the Art Museum steps.

“In response to the strong and heartfelt feedback from the public, Mr. Stallone has graciously decided that we will no longer move forward with the proposed statue swap,” chief cultural officer Valerie V. Gay said at Wednesday’s meeting. “This outcome reflects our shared commitment to listening deeply to the community and doing what is best for both the art and the people who cherish it.”

Now, the city would keep the original, commissioned by Stallone for 1982’s Rocky III, while the second casting — reportedly purchased for about $403,000 at an auction in 2017 — would go back into the actor’s private collection. The second casting has been on (supposedly temporary) display at the top of the Art Museum’s iconic steps since last December, when Stallone lent it to the city for the inaugural RockyFest, which celebrates the Rocky franchise.

What will happen, however, remained up in the air following Wednesday’s meeting. Commission members largely cited concerns over accessibility and feasibility with moving the Rocky statue to the top of the Art Museum steps, but ultimately approved the concept on the condition that Creative Philadelphia present further information before a future vote for final approval. The art commission is next slated to meet Jan. 14, members said Wednesday.

The goal, Gay said, is to have only one Rocky statue at the Art Museum, and install another, as-yet-unannounced, city-owned statue at the bottom of the building’s steps where the original Rocky statue now stands.

“It will not be Rocky,” Gay said. Philly, it should be noted, has a third Rocky statue at Philadelphia International Airport, which made its debut late last month in Terminal A-West.

If approved, the plan would get underway next year. As part of “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” an Art Museum exhibit slated to run from April to August, the original Rocky statue would be displayed inside the museum for the first time, while the loaner remains outside. At the conclusion of that exhibit, the original would be moved outside to the top of the Art Museum’s steps for its permanent installation, and the loaner would go back to Stallone, officials said Wednesday.

Wednesday’s meeting marked yet another chapter in the Rocky statue’s controversial history in town. It arrived for the filming of Rocky III, but when the shoot wrapped in 1981, a permanent location had not been approved, causing it to be shipped back to Los Angeles. It ultimately came back and was temporarily exhibited again at the top of the Art Museum steps before being moved back and forth several times between that location and the Spectrum at the stadium complex in South Philly.

Over the years, the statue has ignited public debate about whether it should be displayed at the Art Museum, and whether it is art in the first place. Still, it has been on display at the foot of the museum’s steps since 2006, where it has served as a draw for tourists and residents alike, attracting an estimated 4 million visitors per year, Creative Philadelphia officials said.

Inquirer readers largely said in September that the statue temporarily installed at the top has overstayed its welcome, with about 46% of respondents to one poll saying no Rocky statue belongs at the top of the steps, but the one at the bottom should stay. Roughly 20% said the city should not have a Rocky statue at all.

Gay, however, said Wednesday that the proposed permanent Rocky statue installation offers a chance to “allow art to bring our community together” and encourage visitors to the statue to take in the art on display inside the museum.

“This is absolutely an amazing opportunity to expand our connection, our community’s connection, with art,” she said.