Public Art on Campus
The Middlebury College campus is home to one of the most important public art collections of any American liberal arts college.
Middlebury’s distinguished campus collection of public art includes 19 works—mostly sculpture—by 19 different artists, many of them nationally or internationally known.
Anonymous (Chinese, late 19th–early 20th century)
Ornamental Rock
China, Anhui Province, Lingbi County
Limestone with carved wood base, height: 44 inches
Purchase with funds provided by the Barbara P. and Robert P. ’64 Youngman Acquisition Fund for Asian Art, 2004.023
Location: Davis Family Library, 2nd Floor, East reading room
Sabra Field (American, born 1935)
Mural of Cosmic Geometry, 2010
Synthetic oil, based on 2009 suite of sixteen linocuts
Executed by Colossal Media, New York
35 x 35 feet
Purchase of the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy and matching private donations
Location: East wall of Wright Memorial Theatre
Slide Show of Public Art on Campus
This slide show offers a visual overview of the works of public art that have been placed around the Middlebury campus. For more detailed information about each individual work please visit the Artists and Exhibits page.
Patrick Dougherty (American, born 1945) So Inclined, 2007, Red maple saplings and grey dogwood. Commissioned as a temporary deposit by the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy. On view 2007-2011. (Photo: Tad Merrick) Location: Front lawn of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Jonathan Borofsky, I dreamed I could fly at 3,876,225 (display)
Jonathan Borofsky (American, born 1942)
I dreamed I could fly at 3,876,225, 1984–1992
Acrylic on urethane foam, 19 1/2 x 58 x 39 inches. Gift of the Overbrook Foundation. 1995.009 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Lobby of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Jonathan Borofsky, I dreamed I could fly at 3,876,225
Jonathan Borofsky (American, born 1942)
I dreamed I could fly at 3,876,225, 1984–1992
Acrylic on urethane foam, 19 1/2 x 58 x 39 inches. Gift of the Overbrook Foundation. 1995.009 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Lobby of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Lorenzo Ghiglieri (American, born 1931)
The Middlebury Panther, 1997
Bronze, over life-size. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip H. Morse and Shelley H. Morse, Class of 1995. 1997.022
Location: Youngman Field and Alumni Stadium
The symbolic function of animals has made them ubiquitous presences in western art. Rulers often commissioned sculptures of their heraldic counterparts from the animal world and used them to represent either themselves or their realms. No image evoked greater awe—from antiquity through the nineteenth century—than equestrian statues of rulers astride a horse.
Lorenzo Ghiglieri, The Middlebury Panther
Lorenzo Ghiglieri (American, born 1931)
The Middlebury Panther, 1997
Bronze, over life-size. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip H. Morse and Shelley H. Morse, Class of 1995. 1997.022 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Youngman Field and Alumni Stadium
Lorenzo Ghiglieri, The Middlebury Panther (display)
Lorenzo Ghiglieri (American, born 1931)
The Middlebury Panther [detail], 1997
Bronze, over life-size. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip H. Morse and Shelley H. Morse, Class of 1995. 1997.022 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Youngman Field and Alumni Stadium
Patrick Dougherty (American, born 1945)
So Inclined, 2007
Red maple saplings and grey dogwood. Commissioned as a temporary deposit by the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy.
Location: Front lawn of the Mahaney Center for the Arts, on view 2007-2011
An internationally known artist who has produced site-specific works in a variety of private and public locations around the globe, Patrick Dougherty created So Inclined at the entrance to the College’s Mahaney Center for the Arts in September 2007.
Patrick Dougherty, So Inclined (display)
Patrick Dougherty (American, born 1945)
So Inclined [detail], 2007
Red maple saplings and grey dogwood. Commissioned as a temporary deposit by the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy. (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Front lawn of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Patrick Dougherty, So Inclined
Patrick Dougherty (American, born 1945) So Inclined, 2007, Red maple saplings and grey dogwood. Commissioned as a temporary deposit by the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy. On view 2007-2011. (Photo: Tad Merrick) Location: Front lawn of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Clement Meadmore (American, born Australia, 1929–2005)
Around and About, 1971
Painted aluminum, 7 feet x 11 feet x 7 feet 3 inches. Gift of Ken and Linda Wilson 2000.032
Location: Pond behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Clement Meadmore’s repeated and characteristic use of geometric but fluid shapes relects his training as an aeronautical engineer.
Like many of Meadmore’s mature sculptures, Around and About consists of two basic geometric forms, square and a quarter circle, extended into space. The black, matte finish of the surfaces unifies the overall effect.
Clement Meadmore, Around and About
Clement Meadmore (American, born Australia, 1929–2005)
Around and About, 1971
Painted aluminum, 7 feet x 11 feet x 7 feet 3 inches. Gift of Ken and Linda Wilson 2000.032 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Pond behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Clement Meadmore, Around and About (display)
Clement Meadmore (American, born Australia, 1929–2005)
Around and About, 1971
Painted aluminum, 7 feet x 11 feet x 7 feet 3 inches. Gift of Ken and Linda Wilson 2000.032 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Pond behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Robert Indiana (American, born 1928)
LOVE, 1973
Painted aluminum, 6 x 6 x 3 feet. Gift of Ken and Linda Wilson. 2000.031
Location: Pond behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Robert Indiana’s LOVE is the most frequently quoted artistic image of recent times. Capturing both a historic moment and sensibility with its bold graphic design, it has appeared as greeting card, jewelry design, and United States postage stamp. The contrast between cool formalist lettering and the emotive significance of the word “love” produces a tension characteristic of Indiana’s work.
Robert Indiana, LOVE
Robert Indiana (American, born 1928)
LOVE, 1973
Painted aluminum, 6 x 6 x 3 feet. Gift of Ken and Linda Wilson. 2000.031
Location: Pond behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Robert Indiana, LOVE (display)
Robert Indiana (American, born 1928)
LOVE, 1973
Painted aluminum, 6 x 6 x 3 feet. Gift of Ken and Linda Wilson. 2000.031 (detail of photo by Jack Goodman '03)
Location: Pond behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Dan Graham (American, born 1942)
Two-Way Mirror Curved Hedge Zig-Zag Labyrinth, 1996
Glass, steel, Arborvitae nigra, Height: 7 1/2 feet, radius: 15 feet. Purchase with funds from the Overbrook Foundation and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, with contributions from the Middlebury College Frederick and Martha Lapham Art Acquisition Fund and the Walter Cerf Art Fund. 1996.067
Location: Courtyard of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Dan Graham, Two-Way Mirror Curved Hedge Zig-Zag Labyrinth (display)
Dan Graham (American, born 1942)
Two-Way Mirror Curved Hedge Zig-Zag Labyrinth, 1996, glass, steel, Arborvitae nigra, Height: 7 1/2 feet, radius: 15 feet. Purchase with funds from the Overbrook Foundation and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, with contributions from the Middlebury College Frederick and Martha Lapham Art Acquisition Fund and the Walter Cerf Art Fund. 1996.067
Location: Courtyard of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Dan Graham, Two-Way Mirror Curved Hedge Zig-Zag Labyrinth
Dan Graham (American, born 1942)
Two-Way Mirror Curved Hedge Zig-Zag Labyrinth, 1996
Glass, steel, Arborvitae nigra, Height: 7 1/2 feet, radius: 15 feet. Purchase with funds from the Overbrook Foundation and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, with contributions from the Middlebury College Frederick and Martha Lapham Art Acquisition Fund and the Walter Cerf Art Fund. 1996.067 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Courtyard of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Buky Schwartz (American, born Jerusalem, 1932–2009)
Plato’s Cave, 1990
Steel, video camera, video monitors. Acquired by the College for the Center for the Arts on the occasion of its inauguration. 1992.007
Location: Foyer of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Buky Schwartz, Plato's Cave
Buky Schwartz (American, born Jerusalem, 1932–2009)
Plato’s Cave, 1990
Steel, video camera, video monitors. Acquired by the College for the Center for the Arts on the occasion of its inauguration. 1992.007
Location: Foyer of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Buky Schwartz, Plato's Cave (display)
Buky Schwartz (American, born Jerusalem, 1932–2009)
Plato’s Cave, 1990
Steel, video camera, video monitors. Acquired by the College for the Center for the Arts on the occasion of its inauguration. 1992.007
Location: Foyer of the Mahaney Center for the Arts
Jenny Holzer (American, Born 1950)
Selections from Truisms: A Sense of Timing..., 1977–1979
Danby Imperial marble, 16 3/4 x 61 x 25 3/8 inches. Purchase of the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy. 2001.004
Location: Second floor of the library
Jenny Holzer, Selections from Truisms
Jenny Holzer (American, Born 1950)
Selections from Truisms: A Sense of Timing..., 1977–1979
Danby Imperial marble, 16 3/4 x 61 x 25 3/8 inches. Purchase of the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy. 2001.004 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Second floor of the library
Jenny Holzer, Selections from Truisms (display)
Jenny Holzer (American, Born 1950)
Selections from Truisms: A Sense of Timing... [detail], 1977–1979
Danby Imperial marble, 16 3/4 x 61 x 25 3/8 inches. Purchase of the Committee on Art in Public Places with funds provided by the Middlebury College Board of Trustees One Percent for Art Policy. 2001.004 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: Second floor of the library
Matt Mullican (American, born 1951)
L’Art d’Ecrire (The Art of Writing), 2004–2005
Oil stick and acrylic paint on 64 canvas panels, overall dimensions: 25' x 74'. Commissioned by the Committee on Art in Public Places, Middlebury College, with funds provided by the Glenstone Foundation in honor of Charles Gwathmey, and The Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Fund for Mural Painting in America of The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York. 2005.039
Location: In the atrium of the library
Matt Mullican, L'Art d'Ecrire
Matt Mullican (American, born 1951)
L’Art d’Ecrire (The Art of Writing), 2004–2005
Oil stick and acrylic paint on 64 canvas panels, overall dimensions: 25' x 74'. Commissioned by the Committee on Art in Public Places, Middlebury College, with funds provided by the Glenstone Foundation in honor of Charles Gwathmey, and The Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Fund for Mural Painting in America of The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York. 2005.039 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: In the atrium of the library
Matt Mullican, L'Art d'Ecrire (display)
Matt Mullican (American, born 1951)
L’Art d’Ecrire (The Art of Writing) [detail], 2004–2005
Oil stick and acrylic paint on 64 canvas panels, overall dimensions: 25' x 74'. Commissioned by the Committee on Art in Public Places, Middlebury College, with funds provided by the Glenstone Foundation in honor of Charles Gwathmey, and The Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Fund for Mural Painting in America of The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York. 2005.039 (Photo: Tad Merrick)
Location: In the atrium of the library