David Rubenstein has purchased Joel Shapiro’s 24-foot sculpture Blue after it was removed from the Kennedy Center’s grounds on September 2, 2026. The pre-dawn dismantling, carried out at the request of the Center and the artist’s foundation, drew public outcry and criticism from arts advocates. Rubenstein plans to lend the piece to the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden. The removal comes amid a contentious effort by the Trump-dominated board to rename and renovate the Kennedy Center, currently the subject of federal court litigation.
David Rubenstein Buys Joel Shapiro’s 'Blue' After Pre-Dawn Removal From Trump-Dominated Kennedy Center
Kennedy Center chair fired by Trump buys Blue sculpture recently torn down by president: report
David Rubenstein, the billionaire philanthropist and former chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, has purchased Joel Shapiro’s 24-foot sculpture Blue after it was abruptly removed from the Center’s grounds on September 2, 2026.
According to The New York Times, Rubenstein acquired the work from the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation. The electric-blue, stick-figure sculpture — installed as a site-specific piece in 2019 and described by Shapiro as a "celebration of possibility" — is expected to be lent to the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.
Billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein is reportedly buying Joel Shapiro's 'Blue' after the Donald Trump-dominated Kennedy Center abruptly removed the sculpture (AP)
Pre-Dawn Removal and Reactions
The sculpture was dismantled in a pre-dawn operation that the National Park Service foreshadowed only by a street-closure notice. Workers began removing the piece before sunrise; the Kennedy Center did not make an advance public announcement. A Kennedy Center spokesperson told The Independent during the disassembly that the institution was "deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years Blue has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision" and that the Center had been "honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work."
The Kennedy Center says the removal was carried out at the joint request of the Center and the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation. The foundation declined to comment to The Independent, and Rubenstein and the National Gallery did not immediately respond to comment requests.
Rubenstein, who was the Kennedy Center chair until Trump fired him in 2025, is reportedly lending the piece to the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (Reuters)
Political Context
Rubenstein was removed as Kennedy Center chair by President Donald Trump in 2025, after which Trump declared himself the institution's new board chairman. The change in leadership has coincided with a controversial push by the board — described by critics as Trump-aligned — to add the president’s name to the Center’s facade, rename the surrounding grounds, and undertake a multimillion-dollar closure and renovation.
Under a board resolution, the facade would read "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump" beneath John F. Kennedy’s name and later add a reference to an endowment if a $100 million Trump-backed fund is realized. The board also voted to name the site "President Donald J. Trump Plaza." These actions have prompted legal challenges and a prior court ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, who found that the memorial is intended to honor President John F. Kennedy exclusively.
Shapiro's site-specific piece for the venue was torn down 'at the behest of a petulant crybaby,' according to public art advocates (Reuters)
Legal Battle and Public Advocacy
Representative Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who is leading litigation against the board’s moves, filed an emergency motion asking Judge Cooper to block the board’s vote to add the president’s name. Her legal filings have criticized the board’s actions as defiant of court orders and warned that officials have suggested the building could suffer financially or structurally without the president’s support. Department of Justice filings cited by Beatty’s lawyers argued the venue could rapidly deteriorate without that support.
Advocacy group Hands Off the Arts urged supporters to "say your final goodbyes," calling September 2, 2026, the day the government removed the public artwork "at the behest of a petulant crybaby."
Scaffolding and a large white tarp remain on the Kennedy Center’s exterior as crews remove metal nameplates from the facade; only portions of the lettering remain visible.
What Happens Next
Rubenstein reportedly plans to lend Blue to the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden, where the sculpture will remain accessible to the public. The acquisition and relocation remove the work from a fraught public dispute and place it within a major national museum setting.
Sources: The New York Times, The Independent, Reuters.
Help us improve.
