Four red letters and a tilted O — the most reproduced image in American Pop Art, standing on a Midtown corner.
At a glance
On the corner of Sixth Avenue and 55th Street stands one of the best-known works of American Pop Art: Robert Indiana’s LOVE, its four bold letters stacked two over two, the O tilted at a restless angle.
History
Robert Indiana developed the LOVE image in the mid-1960s; it first reached the public as a Museum of Modern Art Christmas card in 1965. From that flat design he built sculptures, and the motif spread across the world — onto stamps, posters and countless imitations — until it became almost anonymous through sheer repetition.
What you see
The sculpture is simple and exact: the letters L and O above V and E, in red, their inner faces catching blue and green. The tilted O is the whole idea — a small instability that keeps the word from sitting still, and turns a flat message into an object you walk around.
Significance
Few works of modern art have travelled so far from the gallery. LOVE belongs to museums and to street corners at once, and its Manhattan version has become a fixed point for visitors who may not know the artist’s name but know the image on sight.
Practical information
- Outdoors and free to see at any hour
- A popular photo stop — expect company
- A short walk from Central Park, MoMA and Fifth Avenue
Getting there
The sculpture stands at Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) and 55th Street in Midtown. The nearest subway stations are 57th Street and Fifth Avenue–53rd Street.
Sources
- NYC Tourism (nyctourism.com)
- Public Art Fund archives
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