Polish 'Partisans' find a new home

It was admired and praised, cursed and maligned, and after an uneasy 23 years among the American iconography of the Boston Common, disassembled and thrown into storage. Now, at last, officials say they have given ''Partisans" a home.

The controversial sculpture of haggard horsemen, inspired by Polish freedom fighters, will be displayed near the new Institute of Contemporary Art on the South Boston Waterfront, officials said yesterday.

Calling the sculpture ''one of the hallmark pieces of sculpture in this city," General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said the new location on the plaza above the Silver Line's World Trade Center Station would be highly visible and a fitting spot.

''By working cooperatively with the City of Boston, the Polish-American community, and the artist, I'm convinced we have identified a superb site for this symbol of freedom," Grabauskas said.

Everyone involved seemed relieved by the decision yesterday, including the sculpture's California-based owners and city officials, who had sweated letter campaigns and protests from crowds of angry Polish-Americans since its removal from the Common earlier this year.

The artist, Andrew Pitynski of Brooklyn, N.Y., said, ''My heart is on Boston Common. The partisans were freedom fighters, and the Boston Common was the right place for them."

But, he said, he feels ''very positive, very good, and very happy" that his work had found a place to be seen.

The sculpture has had an unsettled history in Boston. Meant to depict the heavy price that must be paid for liberty, the commemoration of underground fighters who battled the Nazis, the Soviet Army, and then Polish Communists during and after World War II struck a chord with Polish-Americans and others in the city, who successfully lobbied to keep it on the Common for more than two decades, despite the fact that it was only supposed to be there a few months on temporary display.

For years, however, historical purists and some Beacon Hill residents agitated for its removal, saying that the Common should be reserved for works that depicted Boston and American history.

Its removal in January prompted a small furor, with nearly 150 Polish-Americans descending on City Hall Plaza a short time later, waving red and white Polish flags and shouting their outrage at the Menino administration.

MBTA officials stepped in shortly after the city removed the sculpture, saying they would find a home for it, possibly at a subway station.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday that the new location is ''a growing area of the city where [the statue] can still be enjoyed."

The owners of the statue, the nonprofit Sculpture Foundation, yesterday praised the decision by the MBTA to adopt the ''Partisans."

''We are grateful to everyone who has participated in this project, especially to the Polish community of Boston for their support of artist Andrew Pitynski and his work," said Sculpture Foundation director Paula Stoeke.

The extended loan contract between the Sculpture Foundation and the MBTA will probably be for a period of three years, renewable by mutual consent.

Honorary Consul Marek Lesniewski-Laas of the Polish Consulate in Boston said the monument reflects the history of Polish-Americans, some 300,000 of whom reside in the Commonwealth.

''We are heartened and persuaded that the MBTA will be a good host to the 'Partisans' and that it will effectively promote the visibility of the monument," he said.

Pitynski said yesterday that he plans to travel to Boston to help with the reinstallation of the structure and for its rededication. He said he has seen the site, with its panoramic water views of Boston Harbor, and loves it.

But it still rankles him that his work's Beacon Hill detractors won the battle of Boston Common, he said.

''Look, I am American; I am the same kind of American as these snobs from the Boston Common," he said.

''I am a better American, because I have a better appreciation for freedom."