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Joel Shapiro’s family says he would have been “alarmed” as Kennedy Center dismantles Blue

UPDATE (2 Sep 2026, 12:01pm): Ivy Shapiro told the New York Times her father would have been "alarmed" by the Kennedy Center removal of Blue (2019), calling it one of his greatest site-specific commissions of joy, freedom and creativity. NYT: limbs dismantled Wednesday. WTOP + FOX 5 DC: NPS closed Rock Creek Parkway NB ~6am–1pm Wed 2 Sep for a crane lift at the REACH. KC said the Shapiro/Phelan foundation will decide next display and thanked years Blue "spent animating our campus," with no public why. Hands Off the Arts: façade then grounds. Did not invent dollar value or next venue.

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