Putnam Collection of Sculpture, Princeton University explained

The John B. Putnam, Jr. Memorial Collection of Sculpture is a group of outdoor sculptures distributed through the Princeton University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The collection is made up of works from 20th and 21st century sculptors.^[1] In March 1968, President Robert Goheen announced that an anonymous donor gave a $1 million fund for the collection in honor of Princeton alumni John B. Putnam, Jr., Lieutenant U.S.A, who was killed in action during World War II. The works were selected based on a committee of alumni who current or former directors of art museums, and the first 20 were purchased in 1969 and 1970.

The collection was first designed to have only 20 sculptures, but after receiving George Segal's Abraham and Issac, in 1979, the total catalogue increased to 21. The Princeton University Art Museum describes the collection as "not a static phenomenon" and that "work is underway to identify and purchase or commission works by artists."

List of sculptures

Original twenty

The following is the twenty original sculptures before later ones were added.

Name of Piece	Artist	Executed	Installed	Material	Location	Image	References
Atmosphere and Environment X		1969–1970	1971	Cor-Ten steel			^[2]
Construction in the Third and Fourth Dimension		1961–1962	1972	Cast bronze	Courtyard of Jadwin Hall		^[3]
Cubi XIII		1963	1969	Stainless steel	Between McCormick Hall and Whig Hall		^[4]
Five Disks: One Empty		1969–1970	1971	Painted mild steel	Fine Hall Plaza		^[5]
Floating Figure		1927	1969	Cast bronze			^[6]
Head of a Woman	Designed by Pablo Picasso; executed by Carl Nesjar	1971	1971	Cast concrete, granite, and quartzite	Located on the lawn between Spelman Halls and New South Building		^[7]
Marok-Marok-Miosa	Eduardo Paolozzi	1965	1969	Welded aluminum	Stairwell of the Architecture Building		^[8]
Mastodon VI	Michael Hall	1968	1969	Bronze and aluminum	Courtyard of MacMillan Building		^[9]
Moses		1967–1968	1969	Painted mild steel			^[10]
Northwood II	Kenneth Snelson	1970	1973	Stainless steel	East Dormitory Courtyard of the Graduate College		^[11]
Oval with Points		1969–70	1971	Bronze	Between Stanhope Hall and Morrison Hall		^[12]
Professor Albert Einstein	Sir Jacob Epstein	1933	1970	Cast bronze	Fine Hall Library		^[13]
Song of the Vowels		1969	1969	Cast bronze			^[14]
Sphere VI		1966	1969	Polished bronze	Entrance of Fine Hall Library		^[15]
Spheric Theme		1973–1974	1974	Stainless steel	Courtyard of the Engineering Quadrangle		^[16]
Stone Riddle	Masayuki Nagare	1967	1972	Black granite	Courtyard of Engineering Quadrangle		^[17]
The Bride		1956–1961	1970	Cast bronze	Courtyard of Rockefeller College		^[18]
Two Planes Vertical Horizontal II	George Rickey	1970	1972	Stainless steel	Between East Pyne Hall and the University Chapel		^[19]
Upstart II		1970	1973	Cor-Ten steel	Entrance to the Engineering Quadrangle		^[20]
White Sun		1966	1970	Saravezza marble			^[21]

Official additions

Once the initial collection was finished, the university received George Segal's Abraham and Issac as a gift in 1979. The piece was commissioned for Kent State University in memorial of the 1970 Kent State shootings, but it was deemed too provocative.^[22] Segal subsequently donated it to Princeton as it was where he taught sculpture, and it was installed in 1979. The university would continue to receive additional sculptures through purchasing, continued support by the Putnam family through the Mildred Andrews Fund, or as gifts from artists; however, only Segal's work was included in the collection.

Unofficial additions

The Princeton University Art Museum classifies several other pieces of artwork as falling under either the collection, although no reference to them as official additions can be found. Additionally, while the art museum's map on the Putnam Collection labels Scott Burton's Public Table as part of the collection,^[25] no official publication nor the listing on the art museum's website considers it an official component.^[26]

Name of Piece	Artist	Executed	Installed	Material	Location	Image	References
Einstein's Table	Maya Lin	2019	2019	Jet Mist Granite	Lewis Arts Complex		^[27] ^[28]
The Princeton Line	Maya Lin	2018	2018	Earth drawing	Lewis Arts Complex		^[29]
URODA	Ursula von Rydingsvard	2015	2015	Copper, steel, bronze	Entrance to the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment		^[30]

Putnam funding

Several works on campus, while not part of the collection, have received funding from either the Mildred Andrews Fund, like Scott Burton's Public Table, or the John B. Putnam Jr. Memorial Fund, like Doug and Mike Starn's (Any) Body Oddly Propped.^[31]

References

Bibliography

• Book: Sculpture of Princeton University. Princeton University Art Museum. 2011. Little Books. Princeton.

Works cited

• Book: Leitch, Alexander. A Princeton Companion. Princeton University Press. 1978. 978-0-691-04654-9. Princeton. j.ctt13x0zx2 .
• Book: Kelleher, Patrick J.. Living With Modern Sculpture: The John B. Putnam, Jr., Memorial Collection. Princeton University Art Museum in association with Princeton University Press. 1982. 978-0-691-03897-1. Princeton.

External links

• Orange Key Virtual Tour
• "Strolling Among Sculpture on Campus" by Jennifer Sheppard

Notes and References

1. Web site: Campus Collections. July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University.
2. Web site: Atmosphere and Environment X (y1969-18). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
3. Web site: Construction in the Third and Fourth Dimension (y1969-130). 2021-07-26. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
4. Web site: Cubi XIII (y1969-19). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
5. Web site: Five Disks: One Empty (y1969-126). 2021-07-26. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
6. Web site: Floating Figure (y1969-72). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
7. Web site: Head of a Woman (y1969-131). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
8. Web site: Marok-Marok-Miosa (y1969-21). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
9. Web site: Mastodon VI (y1969-81). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
10. Web site: Moses (y1969-104). 2021-07-26. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
11. Web site: Northwood II (y1969-16). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
12. Web site: Oval with Points (y1969-128). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
13. Web site: Professor Albert Einstein (y1970-115). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
14. Web site: Song of the Vowels (y1969-22). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
15. Web site: Sphere VI (y1969-20). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
16. Web site: Spheric Theme (y1974-85). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
17. Web site: Stone Riddle (y1972-41). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
18. Web site: The Bride (y1969-127). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
19. Web site: Two Planes Vertical Horizontal II (y1972-42). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
20. Web site: Upstart II (y1971-13). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
21. Web site: White Sun (y1969-129). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
22. News: Burgess. Daniel. November 20, 2019. Art in the bubble: 'Abraham and Isaac'. The Daily Princetonian. July 26, 2021.
23. Web site: Abraham and Isaac: In Memory of May 4, 1970, Kent State University (y1978-49). 2021-07-26. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
24. Kiefer-Roulet. Evelyn. September 1, 2008. The John and Mildred Putnam Sculpture Collection Patronage and the Role of a Campus Sculpture Collection. Collections. en. 4. 3. 266. 10.1177/155019060800400307. 1550-1906. free.
25. Web site: Putnam Collection. July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University.
26. Web site: Public Table. July 27, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University.
27. Web site: Einstein's Table (2019-238). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
28. News: Spike. Carlett. December 4, 2019. On the Campus: Maya Lin's 'The Princeton Line' and 'Einstein's Table'. Princeton Alumni Weekly. July 26, 2021.
29. Web site: The Princeton Line (2018-88). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
30. Web site: URODA (2015-6739). July 26, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.
31. Web site: (Any) Body Oddly Propped (2015-6737). July 27, 2021. Princeton University Art Museum. Princeton University. en.