Love at the UMFA FAQs

Robert Indiana, the artist behind LOVE (Red Outside Blue Inside), played a central role in the development of Hard-edge painting and Pop art in the mid-20th century and throughout his lifetime.

He was born in Indiana, U.S.A. on September 12, 1928 and adopted as an infant, moving frequently as a child and young adult. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces and studying at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland, Indiana changed his name from Robert Clark to Robert Indiana in honor of his home state.

In 1961, he created the painting 4-Star Love inspired by the spiritual significance of the word. The design later developed in response to Indiana’s artistic and romantic relationship with Ellsworth Kelly, becoming blockier with stacked letters and a tilted “o” in the Hard-edge style. In 1965, the LOVE design was selected by the Museum of Modern Art to be on its Christmas card, which catapulted it to today’s iconic status.

Yes! LOVE (Red Outside Blue Inside) is on the corner of South Campus Drive and 1725 East on the University of Utah Campus and is free for all to enjoy! 

“Indiana’s sculpture is a perfect example of public art’s power to inspire and bring joy to communities. This is a major artwork by an incredibly important American artist. The UMFA is all about bringing great art and people together, and we’re thrilled that the state and a group of generous donors worked together to make this possible for our community.” 

— Gretchen Dietrich, Marcia and John Price Executive Director.  

There are over 50 LOVE sculptures around the world in 7 sizes and 28 color combinations.   

• The LOVE sculpture now at the UMFA is perhaps the most iconic and recognizable color combination (Red Outside Blue Inside). It is also 12 feet tall, the largest scale Indiana ever produced. 
• There are other versions of the sculpture that say AHAVA in Hebrew and AMOR in Spanish 
• The UMFA’s edition is made in polychrome aluminum, but there are also versions made in Cor-Ten steel, bronze, and stainless steel 

Another famous LOVE sculpture is LOVE (Red Purple Green) in Philadelphia (or the City of Brotherly Love). But many other versions can be found in major U.S. museums including the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, AKG Art Museum, SFMOMA, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. There is also a six-foot version of LOVE (Red Outside Blue Inside) in Utah at the BYU Museum of Art. 

There are seven of this exact sculpture—the 12-foot-tall LOVE (Red Outside Blue Inside)—in the world.  

• The UMFA’s LOVE sculpture is the only editioned version of this size and color combination in a public collection (it is edition 5 of 5) 
• The artist proofs are at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (Scottsdale, Arizona) and the Amorepacific Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea) 
• All others are in private collections  

This exact LOVE sculpture was installed on the corner of 55th Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan for many years. In 2023, it was on display outside Rockefeller Center. As one of the most visible versions of the sculpture in the world, the UMFA’s LOVE has been featured in major publications and exhibitions around the world. Now it has a new home in Salt Lake City!

“The UMFA serves as a bridge between our campus and the larger community, and this remarkable artwork will be a beautiful moment of welcome for our many visitors. Robert Indiana’s LOVE  sculpture is more than just an artwork—it’s a piece of American cultural history. We’re proud to provide a home where it can be experienced by everyone, every day.”  
— Gretchen Dietrich, Marcia and John Price Executive Director.  

The UMFA cares for a world-class collection of global modern and contemporary art, including strong holdings of Pop art and Hard-edge abstraction. Indiana’s LOVE (Red Outside Blue Inside) joins other major works in the collection by Alex Katz, Wayne Thiebaud, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, and Ellsworth Kelly. 

With the generous support of several Utah-based donors and state funding, the University of Utah purchased Love (Red Outside Blue Inside) through Christie’s when it became available for sale in 2024.

The effort to bring the $4.5 million sculpture to campus was initiated by university donors and state leaders to share world-class art with the community. The sculpture’s addition to the UMFA’s collection helps highlight the role the UMFA plays as Utah’s official fine arts museum.

The UMFA is extraordinarily grateful for this gift and is committed to preserving and maintaining the sculpture in perpetuity for all to enjoy. This combination of state support and private funding ensures that maintenance, conservation, security and long-term stewardship were built into the acquisition from the outset, treating the sculpture as a public art investment for future generations.

Donors include:

The State of Utah

The Coburn Family Trust

The John and Marcia Price Foundation

O.C. Tanner Company

The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation

Zions Bank

A gift in honor of Scott and Jesselie Anderson from The Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation