25-foot 'Reclining Liberty' statue coming to Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington in August

ARLINGTON, Va. - After 130 years on her feet, Lady Liberty is taking a much-deserved break in Arlington.

New York City-based artist Zaq Landsberg’s sculpture of a reclining Lady Liberty will be installed on the front lawn of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington on August 5. An opening celebration and community picnic will be held on August 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The sculpture will remain there until July 28, 2024.

"Reclining Liberty" takes inspiration from the giant reclining Buddha statues found all around Asia. The position represents Buddha's last moments of his body on earth, before his death and entrance into nirvana.

JERSEY CITY, NJ - JULY 19: The sun sets on the 'Reclining Liberty' statue by artist Zaq Landsberg in Liberty State Park as it sits in front of the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City as a woman walks past it on July

Expand

By bringing Lady Liberty to ground level, the installation invites viewers to interact with the statue and American ideals of freedom.

"Recontextualizing Reclining Liberty in Arlington makes sense for our current moment. Placing it within a few miles of Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon, the National Mall, etc, adds a new layer onto the work, allows for a new set of meaningful interactions with different communities, and adds to the local and national reevaluation of monuments" said Landsberg in a statement. "Their history, how they function in public space, how they’ve changed from their inception, and their impact on society."

This sculpture was previously installed in New York and New Jersey. Moving the sculpture to Arlington was co-sponsored by MoCA Arlington and Arlington Public Art.

Landsberg has made other sculptures and public artworks, including a human-shaped piñata and a recreation of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.