{"id":455875,"date":"2026-02-08T06:31:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T06:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/455875\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T06:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T06:31:15","slug":"university-of-utah-celebrates-acquisition-of-love-sculpture-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/455875\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Utah celebrates acquisition of ‘LOVE’ sculpture \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

University of Utah celebrates acquisition of Robert Indiana’s iconic “LOVE” sculpture.The massive work of pop art was installed on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.School leadership hopes the “LOVE” sculpture will be a symbol of unity and peace on campus.<\/p>\n

Valentine\u2019s Day is still a week away \u2014 but a massive three-dimensional block of \u201cLOVE\u201d arrived early at the University of Utah.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the state\u2019s flagship university celebrated the installation of American pop artist Robert Indiana\u2019s iconic \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture (\u201cRed Outside Blue Inside\u201d) on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.<\/p>\n

The 12-by-12-by-6-foot sculpture \u2014 which was installed earlier this week during overnight hours \u2014 has already become a selfie magnet. Scores of people gathering to celebrate the newest campus addition took advantage of Saturday\u2019s spring-like weather for photos.<\/p>\n

With its bold red letters \u2014 and its distinct slanted \u201cO\u201d \u2014 Indiana\u2019s \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture is one of the world\u2019s most recognizable pop art images. Now university officials and donors hope it becomes an inviting symbol of friendship, unity and optimism at a moment when American college campuses are often associated with tumult and division.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is indeed an incredible day,\u201d said University of Utah President Taylor Randall on Saturday, saluting each of the organizations who helped the \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture find a new home at the school.<\/p>\n

\"\"University of Utah President Taylor Randall speaks as people involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture celebrate inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Bringing the $4.5 million sculpture to the University of Utah was the joint effort of the State of Utah and a variety of university donors \u2014 including The Coburn Family Trust, The John and Marcia Price Foundation, O.C. Tanner Company, The George S. and Dolores Dor\u00e9 Eccles Foundation, Zions Bank, and a gift in honor of Scott and Jesselie Anderson from The Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation.<\/p>\n

Randall has been asked why the University of Utah would acquire a major piece of art when college budgets are tight. <\/p>\n

The university, he responded, brings in students to inspire intellect. \u201cBut we also try to teach them about emotion \u2014 and how emotion moves society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randall noted there are \u201ctwo great emotions\u201d motivating society: one is fear. The other, love.<\/p>\n

\"\"People involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture celebrate inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Only one of those sentiments is positive, he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s the role of this institution to create positive change. And so to have a statue that screams love in the midst of often chaos, competition and argument, it puts our priority \u2014 both as a society and as an institution \u2014 in perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president said it\u2019s his hope that the work being produced across campus is motivated by love. \u201cBecause if it\u2019s motivated by love, it actually speaks a lot for our future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love, he added, is a choice. \u201c(Love) should be the great motivator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"University of Utah President Taylor Randall looks up at Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News A \u2018New Yorker\u2019 finds a new home in Utah <\/p>\n

First created in the 1960s, there are 86 iterations of Indiana\u2019s \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture \u2014 but only nine were produced in the 12-by-12-by-6-foot parameters of the work now installed at the University of Utah, according to the school.<\/a><\/p>\n

Prior to being purchased and relocated to Utah, the sculpture was located on the corner of 55th Street and 6th Avenue in New York City for more than two decades. It was reportedly acquired through Christie\u2019s auction house when it became available for sale in 2024.<\/p>\n

UMFA Executive Director Gretchen Dietrich thanked President Randall and his team \u2014 including workers who installed the sculpture in the February cold \u2014 for their combined efforts to bring \u201cLOVE\u201d to the University of Utah.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Dietrich also applauded the donors whose generosity helped acquire the \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture. \u201cAnd I also wish to express gratitude to the Utah State Legislature\u2019s continued support of the University of Utah, and commend our leaders for their honoration of art.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also saluted the tenacity of former UMFA advisory board member Jonathan Freedman to help launch the school\u2019s successful pursuit of the \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gretchen Dietrich, executive director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, right, claps as people involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture are recognized inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

The \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture \u201cis now a highlight of the UMFA\u2019s permanent collection of over 22,000 artworks \u2014 and the museum and the university are committed to its long-term care and preservation for future generations,\u201d said Dietrich.<\/p>\n

The newly installed \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture, she added, doubles as a reminder of the need to work together to build communities reflecting institutional and personal values, \u201cand to create public spaces where all people \u2014 our students, perhaps most especially \u2014 feel welcome, valued and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa Eccles, the president and COO of the George S. and Dolores Dor\u00e9 Eccles Foundation, told the Deseret News that the \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture is a beloved piece of art that has been seen by legions in New York City for more than 20 years. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now to have it on campus is just going to be a treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eccles added Utah is an apt home for the \u201cLOVE\u201d sculpture \u201cbecause our community and our state are about love and giving back and volunteering and taking care of each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what a great reminder of what we should be striving for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"People involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture pose in front of the sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Katie Eccles, left, and Lisa Eccles, right, pose in front of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"People celebrate the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Jesselie Anderson looks at \u201cLOVE\u201d items at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts gift shop after viewing Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Gretchen Dietrich, executive director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, speaks as people involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture celebrate inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"University of Utah President Taylor Randall, center, and his wife, Janet Randall, right, talk to John Price, left, as people involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture celebrate inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Gretchen Dietrich, executive director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, right, talks to Marcia Price, left, as people involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture celebrate inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"People involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture celebrate on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"University of Utah President Taylor Randall, as seen through Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture, talks with others involved with the installation of the sculpture as they celebrate on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Ken Coburn, GoEngineer founder, stands as people recognize his involvement in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after people viewed the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Gretchen Dietrich, executive director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, speaks as people involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture celebrate inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"University of Utah President Taylor Randall claps as people involved in the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture are recognized inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts after viewing the sculpture on the south lawn in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"People celebrate the installation of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"From left: Lisa Eccles, Utah Museum of Fine Arts executive director Gretchen Dietrich, University of Utah President Taylor Randall and Katie Eccles pose in front of Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture on the south lawn of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"University of Utah celebrates acquisition of Robert Indiana’s iconic “LOVE” sculpture.The massive work of pop art was 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