President's Message: LOVE at The Huntington

In 1965, the Museum of Modern Art selected an image by Robert Indiana for its annual holiday card. Four letters arranged in a square, with the “O” tilted to one side, spelled a familiar word: LOVE. 

Six decades later, Indiana’s image remains among the most recognizable in American art. This holiday season, I am delighted to welcome a monumental sculpture of LOVE to The Huntington, made possible by the generosity of Terri and Jerry Kohl. 

First conceived in 1964 and realized as a sculpture in 1966, LOVE became a defining image of Pop Art. Indiana transformed a familiar word through color, scale, and form, creating a work whose meanings have continued to evolve. Over six decades, LOVE has come to represent affection, hope, connection, and solidarity, with successive generations bringing their own experiences and interpretations to its four letters. 

The Huntington’s LOVE, fabricated in 1999, stands 12 feet high and 12 feet wide. When it makes its public debut on Nov. 21, it will be the only publicly accessible museum-owned LOVE sculpture in Southern California. 

Visitors will experience Indiana’s work in a setting that brings art, history, literature, and the natural world together. In the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art, they can encounter Pop art by Andy Warhol, whose work also draws on familiar imagery from American life. Nearby, Betye Saar’s Drifting Toward Twilight, a site-specific installation incorporating natural materials gathered from The Huntington’s grounds, brings the landscape into the gallery. Outside, LOVE joins sculptures by artists including Sam Francis and Tony Smith, continuing a tradition of outdoor sculpture that Henry E. Huntington began in 1910. 

The sculpture also resonates with holdings in our Library that document how love has been expressed and understood across centuries. The papers of Christopher Isherwood include correspondence with his longtime partner, artist Don Bachardy, while the Nancy and Henry Rosin Collection of Valentine, Friendship, and Devotional Ephemera preserves expressions of affection, friendship, and devotion through words and images. Together, these works and collections invite us to consider how love has been represented in different historical and cultural contexts. The connections among art, literature, history, and the natural world offer experiences possible only at The Huntington. 

The acquisition comes as Los Angeles prepares for another moment on the international stage. More than a century ago, Henry Huntington recognized the region’s potential and helped shape its development through railways and infrastructure. His real estate broker, William May “Billy” Garland, later led the successful campaign to bring the 1932 Olympic Games to LA. 

As the city prepares to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, cultural institutions have an opportunity to share the art, histories, and ideas that have shaped Southern California. Indiana’s LOVE, an American work recognized internationally, will be part of that welcome and will remain here for generations to come. 

Supporters of The Huntington for many years, Terri and Jerry Kohl recognized our institution as a particularly fitting home for LOVE. Welcoming approximately 1.1 million visitors annually, The Huntington offers an opportunity for millions of people to experience the sculpture in the years leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, during the Games, and for generations afterward. The Kohls’ decision to place the work here reflects both their appreciation of its significance in American art and their confidence in The Huntington’s ability to care for it and share it with a broad public. We are deeply grateful for their generosity and trust. 

The holiday season brings us back to the history of LOVE. It makes its public debut on Nov. 21, with a special holiday photo opportunity offered Nov. 21 and 22. Sixty-one years after Indiana’s image appeared on MoMA’s holiday card, visitors can create their own seasonal keepsake with the sculpture as its centerpiece. 

I hope you will join us to welcome LOVE to The Huntington and experience this remarkable work in its new home. 

With warm wishes for the holiday season, 

Karen R. Lawrence 
President of The Huntington