Warner Palaestra - Collegeville, Minnesota - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Marcel Breuer, an architect who is also known for creating the Wassily Chair, designed this abstract granite sculpture which stands outside the Warner Palaestra, the athletic facility at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Breuer had created a master plan for the campus. Although he did not design the Palaestra, he was the architect of the St. John's Abbey and University Church, Alcuin Library, the science hall, and several other buildings on campus.

Breuer donated the design to the university. Cold Spring Granite, now called Coldspring, carried out Breuer's plan. Donald McNeely paid for the fabrication.

The angular sculpture "The Athlete" is approximately fifteen feet high. It depicts a human figure down on one knee, with arms raised. It is made of gray granite. Marcel Breuer's signature is carved into the outside of the bent knee.

Inscriptions:

On the sculpture:

Marcel Breuer [signature]

On the sign:

The Athlete

Marcel Breuer (1902-1981)
Granite, 1973

Gift of Marcel Breuer and Donald McNeely (1914-2009)

References:

Saint John's, Fall 1973, p. 26.

History of the Athlete Sculpture in front of the Warner Palaestra.

TITLE: Warner Palaestra ARTIST(S): Marcel Breuer and Cold Spring Granite Company DATE: 1973 MEDIUM: Granite CONTROL NUMBER: IAS MN000389 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: In front of the Warner Palaestra, 2585 Abbey Road, Collegeville, Minnesota DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: The Warner Palaestra is the building outside which this sculpture stands. The sculpture is called "The Athlete." The date of the sculpture is 1973.

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