Billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein, who was removed from the Kennedy Center board by President Donald Trump last year, has purchased Joel Shapiro’s 24‑foot‑tall blue sculpture “Blue.” The artwork, which was abruptly dismantled from the Kennedy Center grounds last week, is slated to be installed in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden. The New York Times reported the sale to the foundation dedicated to the artist.
Trump fired Rubenstein, a major arts donor and co‑founder of The Carlyle Group, claiming the donor did not share his “Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” Trump then installed himself as the Kennedy Center’s new board chairman and appointed loyalists, moving to rename the venue and close the building for renovations. The sculpture’s removal was carried out before sunrise, with workers disassembling the piece at the request of the Kennedy Center and the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation.
Advocacy group Hands Off the Arts condemned the teardown, urging visitors to “say your final goodbyes.” The group described “Blue” as a joyful public‑grounds feature and warned that the removal would not be the last. The Kennedy Center spokesperson thanked Shapiro for the sculpture’s presence, noting it had animated the campus for years. A foundation representative declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the board voted to add Trump’s name to the building’s facade and to name the surrounding plaza after him, despite court orders preventing such renaming. A U.S. District Judge ruled that the memorial could only bear Kennedy’s name, and the Department of Justice has warned that the Kennedy Center could deteriorate or be demolished if the renovation plan is halted. Rep. Joyce Beatty has filed an emergency motion to block the board’s latest vote, calling it a “breathtaking act of defiance.”
