Once part of the inner circle of Andy Warhol's Pop Art scene, the artist best known for creating the "LOVE" sculpture has passed away at the age of 89. He left a world of love, and hope, in his wake.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/J. Page
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Pop artist Robert Indiana created 'LOVE' and 'HOPE' across a 60 year career
In the 1960s, artist Robert Indiana created his iconic 'LOVE' sculpture. From Berlin to Saint Petersburg, here's what 'LOVE' looks like around the world.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Endermann
A life of solitude
Robert Indiana spent most of the last three decades of his life alone. Here, he can be seen in the kitchen of his Victorian home on Vinalhaven, an island off of the Maine coast. A patron bought him the house in 1978. Indiana passed away on May 19.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Wellenbach
"LOVE" in Berlin
"Imperial Love" is one of the many sculptures from the artist's "LOVE" series. "LOVE" was initially a commissioned work for a Christmas card for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1966, it became a favorite theme of Indiana's art. Workers here install the sculpture in front of Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof museum.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Fischer
"LOVE" in Saint Petersburg
In 2016, the "LOVE" sculpture was part of an exhibition in Saint Petersburg's Marble Palace in the Russian State Museum titled "To Russia With Love." The retrospective only featured one "LOVE" sculpture and focused on a number of works created throughout Indiana's storied 60 year career that paved the way for later pop artists.
The sculpture titled "Ahava", the Hebrew word for Love, was created in 1977 and is located in the sculpture garden of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The museum and sculpture are perched on a hill above the city where people enjoy flying kites.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/epa/J. Hollander
"LOVE" in Cologne
In 2006, Indiana's painting "LOVE", which was one of the first works in the series, was displayed in Museum Ludwig in Cologne as part of the exhibition, "The Eighth Field" aiming to look beyond the "heterosexual mainstream." It hanged in front of wallpaper created in 1988 with the word "AIDS" written in a typical Pop Art style.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
"LOVE" in Indiana
Robert Indiana was born on September 13, 1928 in New Castle, Indiana. His name given at birth was Robert Clark, but in 1959 he named himself after his home state. This "LOVE" sculpture was built in front of the Indiana Museum of Art in honor of Robert Indiana.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
Giving "HOPE" to Obama
In 2008, as Barack Obama ran for US president, Indiana created the sculpture titled "HOPE" in the style of his "LOVE." It was created in honor of the candidate and his message of change. The lettering was widely marketed and earned more than a million dollars for Obama's campaign. "I wanted to help him," Indiana said of the work.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/J. Page
"LOVE" around the world
Everyone knows this lettering, but hardly anyone knows the artist. Since the copyright to the font was placed on the original Museum of Modern Art Christmas card, anyone could adapt or copy Indiana's iconic lettering for decades without giving him credit.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Endermann
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Born Robert Clark in 1928 in the Midwestern state of Indiana, artist Robert Indiana died on May 19, leaving behind a storied career and a legacy of love-inspired artwork.
In 1954, Indiana moved to New York, where he became deeply entrenched in the Pop Art Scene that was being pioneered by Andy Warhol. In the 1960s, Indiana gained international fame with his oversized statues of stacked up letters that form the word "LOVE." Today, the sculptures can be seen all over the world, from Jerusalem to Saint Petersburg and Berlin.
But this masterpiece wasn't the only one Indiana did in his lifetime. He also painted a portrait of Jimmy Carter and created a "HOPE" sculpture that helped raise money for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. But for better or worse, the fame of "LOVE" overshadowed his other accomplishments.
Although "LOVE" debuted in the 1960s, it wasn't until 2013 that Indiana was honored with a major exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The artist's brief comment on the honor was: "That took a while."
The "LOVE" statue in PhiladelphiaImage: picture-alliance/Newscom/A. Jenny
Living in solitude
Indiana had a reputation for being a hermit. Once, he stood up Barack Obama in the White House. Another time, he had a TV team from US broadcaster NBC wait for days near his home before finally allowing reporters to interview him.
In 1978, Indiana moved from New York to his estate on Vinalhaven, an island off the coast of Maine. The artist often visited Vinalhaven's artist colony before moving there.
