This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/20/2021
[SERRA, Richard (b. 1938)]. Archive of documents related to the removal of Tilted Arc. New York City, 1985. Seven documents relating to Richard Serra’s controversial public installation work, Tilted Arc, including a letter to President Ronald Reagan from artist Richard Serra with autopen signature protesting the sculpture’s removal, press releases, a letter to Sol Stein from New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and a selection of testimonies in support of Tilted Arc from such artistic luminaries as Keith Haring, Joyce Schwartz, Philip Glass, Elizabeth Murray, Claes Oldenberg, and others. All documents 8 x 10”. These documents pertain to the March 1985 hearing to remove the installation. Provenance: From the estate of Sol Stein. Tilted Arc was installed in Manhattan’s Foley Federal Plaza in 1981, and immediately attracted a firestorm of controversy. Because of the installation’s size and its placement in the plaza, workers began to complain of disruptions to their daily routines as well as questions of functionality of space, with many taking the view the installation precluded large gatherings and discouraged workers from taking breaks outdoors. These complaints eventually led to a trial in which a jury voted 4-1 to remove the installation, despite over a hundred testimonials submitted by modern artists and collectors in support of the piece.