Large Arch

Henry Moore may be the most influential public sculptor of the twentieth century, and his Large Arch is the largest of its kind in the United States.

The library architect, I M Pei, thought that the plaza needed a sculpture to enliven and, in his words, hold the space, and he recommended Moore.

Its abstract and organic form provide a contrast to the geometric shapes of the buildings surrounding it.

Pei wanted the piece to be interactive and requested that it be big enough for people to stroll through. Henry Moore said, “As a young sculptor, I saw Stonehenge, and ever since, I’ve wanted to do work that could be walked through and around.”

The sculpture was designed at Moore’s studio in Hertfordshire in England, and sandcast in bronze sections at a foundry in West Germany. The pieces, one-fourth to one-half inch thick, were welded with invisible seams.

The sculpture was commissioned by J Irwin and Xenia Miller, as a gift to the City of Columbus, in 1971.