MBTA offers removed sculpture new home

BOSTON --A sculpture that was removed from the Boston Common after the city decided it wasn't a good fit for a park devoted to American history may have a new home in the mass transit system.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager Daniel Grabauskas said he's spoken to Mayor Thomas Menino about finding a new home for 'Partisans,' a 3,500-pound sculpture of five bedraggled Polish patriots that pays tribute to freedom fighters around the world.

Grabauskas told The Boston Globe he hasn't chosen a location for the sculpture, though he's leaning toward Courthouse Station, on the new Silver Line near the South Boston waterfront.

"We're always looking to expand the look and feel of our facilities by incorporating art into our stations, and here we have a piece of art that has, for many, I think, become one of the hallmark pieces of sculpture in this city," Grabauskas said. "If folks are looking for a home for it, we would love to see if we can't find one somewhere in the MBTA system."

A spokesman for Menino said he would work with the MBTA to get it placed.

Partisans was on display on the Boston Common from 1983 until it was removed earlier this month, to the delight of some of the city's art elite and the dismay of members of the local Polish community.

The MBTA may have some competition for Partisans. The sculpture's owner, The Sculpture Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif., said it has been approached by several cities in Massachusetts and Connecticut about the sculpture, though the foundation would not identify which ones. A South Boston arts group has also expressed interest.