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# Lincoln Center Scraps Richard Lippold’s Chandelier Sculpture in $550M Renovation Plans
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/lincoln-center-scraps-richard-lippolds-chandelier-sculpture-in-550m-renovation-plans/
- Published: 2019-12-06T22:48:20.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:52:57.000Z
- Description: Preservationists have voiced their concerns about eliminating Lippold's “Orpheus and Apollo,” one of the original pieces of public artworks at Lincoln Center, installed in 1962.
- Author: Monica Castillo
- Tags: In Brief, Lincoln Center, New York, Preservation, Sculpture, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2019/12/48047408511_8971fb9a32_k.jpg)

David Geffen Hall (via Ajay Suresh’s Flickrstream)

On Monday, December 2, New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center announced plans for a [$550 million renovation project ](https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/lincoln-center-and-ny-philharmonic-announce-550-million-geffen-hall-renovation?ref=hyperallergic.com)to address the David Geffen Hall’s much-maligned acoustics issues. The plans include a [significant change to the stage](http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/12/revealed-the-plans-for-david-geffen-hall-at-lincoln-center.html?ref=hyperallergic.com), bringing it closer to the audience and placing sections of seats behind the orchestra for a slight “in the round” feel. The seating capacity will shrink from over 2,700 seats to around 2,200\. There are also plans to expand the lobby and make it a more welcoming public space. Construction is slated to begin in May 2022 and will continue through intermittent spurts until March 2024.

> On Monday, we and [@LincolnCenter](https://twitter.com/LincolnCenter?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) announced plans for the reimagined David Geffen Hall. Highlights:[https://t.co/FlOdUbHI51](https://t.co/FlOdUbHI51?ref=hyperallergic.com)[#WorkingInConcert](https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorkingInConcert?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)  
>  
> — New York Philharmonic (@nyphil) [December 5, 2019](https://twitter.com/nyphil/status/1202617343966400512?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)

One of the announcement’s more controversial decisions would leave out Richard Lippold’s “[Orpheus and Apollo,](https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/lincoln-center-says-glittering-metal-sculpture-orpheus-and-apollo-will-not-be-reinstalled?ref=hyperallergic.com)” one of the original pieces of public artwork that had been a part of the [building’s lobby since it opened in 1962](https://www.facebook.com/LincolnCenterNYC/photos/on-march-14-1962-richard-lippolds-orpheus-and-apollo-a-sculpture-in-munz-metal-i/10151231679138187/). Measuring 190-feet-long and 39-feet-high, weighing in at around five tons and incorporating [450 steel wires](https://ny.curbed.com/2019/12/5/20995858/lincoln-center-orpheus-and-apollo-renovation-new-york-philharmonic-lippold-nyc?ref=hyperallergic.com), the striking piece of art greeted visitors before they entered what was then known as the Philharmonic Hall. The mid-century, avant-garde deconstructed chandelier was removed in 2014 for what was publicized to be conservation purposes. After a long delay, [questions around its return](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/arts/design/orpheus-and-apollo-dismantled-may-be-gone-for-years-some-fear-permanently.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) began circulating as admirers of the piece feared the worst. Deborah Borda, president of the New York Philharmonic, said the [sculpture was not reinstalled](https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/lincoln-center-says-glittering-metal-sculpture-orpheus-and-apollo-will-not-be-reinstalled?ref=hyperallergic.com) due to safety concerns over the piece’s wiring.

The news concerned fans and scholars of mid-century art who worry “Orpheus and Apollo” may not be publicly exhibited again. Theodore Grunewald, a preservationist, told [Gothamist](https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/lincoln-center-says-glittering-metal-sculpture-orpheus-and-apollo-will-not-be-reinstalled?ref=hyperallergic.com), “It’s really tragic because of the complexity of the sculpture. Once you take Humpty Dumpty apart, it’s hard to put it together again.”

> That's \*not\* what they said when Lippold's "Apollo and Orpheus" sculpture was taken down.  
>  
> At the time, they said it was “removed temporarily for maintenance and conservation.”[https://t.co/8woBoFLS8y](https://t.co/8woBoFLS8y?ref=hyperallergic.com)  
>  
> They're morally obligated to put it back.  
> cc: [@ARSNewYork](https://twitter.com/ARSNewYork?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)[@ArtistsRights](https://twitter.com/ArtistsRights?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [pic.twitter.com/50oWzCOyFa](https://t.co/50oWzCOyFa?ref=hyperallergic.com)  
>  
> — Theodore — Six — Feet — Apart — Grunewald (@TedGrunewald) [December 3, 2019](https://twitter.com/TedGrunewald/status/1201995419787649025?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)

Lippold, [an industrial designer turned sculptor](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Lippold?ref=hyperallergic.com), often used geometrical shapes in his ambitious projects. Like a lot of Lippold’s public work, “Orpheus and Apollo” was an intricate balance of precise design and metalwork on an impressively giant scale, like his public sculpture [Ad Astra](https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/ad-astra?ref=hyperallergic.com) in front of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and his expansive piece for the former PanAm building [Flight](https://www.panam.org/the-jet-age/370-air-rights-the-pan-am-building-2?ref=hyperallergic.com). Many of his most famous pieces were made in the ’60s and ’70s.

Lincoln Center still has [a number of public sculptures](https://nyhandmadecollective.org/blog/2016/6/22/hidden-public-sculpture-part-1?ref=hyperallergic.com) in and outside of its buildings from its early days, but the slow loss of “Orpheus and Apollo” is a shock to preservationists and art lovers. As of now, there are no announced plans of showcasing it elsewhere.