This Was a Good Sculpture
The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., has removed a sculpture by Joel Shapiro titled 'Blue' following a request from the institution's leadership. The removal has sparked criticism regarding the decision-making process and the loss of a significant piece of public art.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the intersection of institutional management, political influence, and the preservation of public cultural assets.
Washington, D.C., is full of cords of connection. By removing a Joel Shapiro work, the Kennedy Center severed one.
Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post / Getty September 9, 2026, 7 AM ET Share Save Until last week, a big electric-blue sculpture by Joel Shapiro sat next to the Kennedy Center. Boxy and rigid but seemingly weightless, Blue looked like a clumsy person who’d been swept by a breeze into an accidental pirouette. Shapiro called the metalwork a “celebration of possibility.” Some people thought it looked like Gumby. I loved it. The leaders of the Kennedy Center—and there is really just one leader of the Kennedy Center—did not.
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