A Monumental Addition to Campus

"The Arc," a sculpture by Alexander Liberman, arrived in Storrs this month at its new home next to the Benton Museum of Art.

"The Arc," a sculpture by Alexander Liberman, at sunrise.

The first step in the sculpture's journey was to remove it from its old location without damaging it. (Sean Flynn/UConn Photo)

On Friday, Dec. 6, a spectacular new piece of public art arrived on the Storrs campus. “The Arc,” a large-scale steel structure by the artist Alexander Liberman (1912-1999), was gifted to the University in 1982 by prominent collector Robert C. Scull. The sculpture was on the campus of UConn Torrington, but when that campus closed in 2016, plans were made to bring it to Storrs. A crowd gathered on Friday morning to watch the sculpture being put into place, including President Thomas Katsouleas, who pointed out the importance of great art as part of the university experience, quoting the philosopher Plato’s observation that “the contemplation of beauty causes the soul to grow wings.”

In this series of photos, UConn Photographer Sean Flynn documents the sculpture’s progress from Torrington to its new home next to the Benton Museum of Art.