T offers 'Partisans' a new home

An unlikely curator has stepped forward in hopes of acquiring ''Partisans," the sculpture of five downcast Polish patriots on horseback that the city uprooted from Boston Common and placed in storage two weeks ago: the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Perhaps better known for primary-color maps than for fine art, the MBTA contends that it has the oldest art collection of any public transit system in the country, and General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said yesterday that he has spoken to Mayor Thomas M. Menino's staff about snapping up the displaced horsemen.

Grabauskas said he has not pinpointed a location for the sculpture, but his first inclination is to consider Courthouse Station, a new, ultramodern Silver Line station on the South Boston Waterfront with plenty of space for the 3,500-pound aluminum statue.

''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."

Beacon Hill neighbors and city arts officials expressed concern for more than two decades that the sculpture, which was hurriedly placed on the Common in 1983 by Mayor Kevin White without the approval of city art officials, was out of place in a park whose statuary is largely devoted to Boston and American history. But the sculpture's removal from the Common left many people in Boston and beyond disappointed and outraged.

At least two groups are lobbying to keep the sculpture in the city, and the artist, Polish immigrant Andrew Pitynski of Brooklyn, N.Y., has been inundated with e-mail, phone calls, and requests for interviews from as far away as his native country.

Established in 1967, the MBTA's art collection includes some 78 murals, decorative benches, sculptures, and carvings, ranging from children's drawings on ceramic tiles to a 46-foot-tall steel kinetic sculpture by Susumu Shingu, an internationally acclaimed Japanese artist, in Porter Square, Cambridge.

Grabauskas said he always liked Pitynski's ''evocative" tribute to the Polish patriots who fought the Nazis, the Soviet Army, and then the Polish Communists during and after World War II. The outpouring of public support for the sculpture prompted him to step forward, he said.

''Perhaps it may not be totally in keeping with other artwork where it was. That's fine," Grabauskas said. ''But in my opinion, the message the statue conveys is clearly in keeping with the spirit of Boston."

Seth Gitell, a spokesman for Menino, said the mayor was pleased to hear of Grabauskas's offer and will work with the MBTA to help get it placed.

But the MBTA may have some competition.

The ultimate arbiter of the sculpture's fate is The Sculpture Foundation, the Santa Monica-based group that owns it. Paula Stoeke, the foundation's director, said the group has already been approached by several cities in Massachusetts and Connecticut about providing a home for the piece. She would not say which ones.

Any taker would have to help pay for moving, storing, and reinstalling it, she said.

But Stoeke also added that the foundation's board is inclined to do what it can to keep the sculpture in Boston and that it was ''very good news to hear that there is energy being put toward" that goal.

Meanwhile, at least two groups in Boston are also working to keep ''Partisans" in Boston. A South Boston arts group has contacted state Representative Brian P. Wallace, a Democrat from the neighborhood, to see whether he could help them find a place for the sculpture. South Boston has historically been home to a large sector of the city's Polish community.

Wallace said Grabauskas's initial idea about Courthouse Station was intriguing, as there had been some talk about the possibility of putting it in nearby Maritime Park.

''We'd like to be involved in the process," he said. ''There's a lot of Polish people in South Boston and in Dorchester that I represent."

Still another group of representatives from seven Boston-area Polish organizations sent a letter to Menino this week, asking him to consult them about a possible Boston site.

Marek Lesniewski-Laas, who said he is a volunteer member of the Polish diplomatic corps, said he would prefer to see the sculpture remain on Boston Common, but he said he would also be amenable to other spots with heavy pedestrian traffic.

Pitynski himself, though he has no control over where The Sculpture Foundation ultimately places his art, said he will be happy as long as the sculpture stays in a prominent location in Boston, which as America's ''cradle of liberty" he feels is the ideal spot for it.

''If it cannot stay on Boston Common, where it was for years, if they put it in some other proper public place, it would be an honor for me," he said.

Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com