Column I - Stanford University - Palo Alto, CA - Abstract Public Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Artist: James Rosati (U.S.A., 1911–1988)
Date: 1983–1984
Media: Stainless steel
Credit Line: In memory of Albert Elsen, 1927–1995, Professor of Art History, Stanford University, 1968–1995. Teacher, scholar, and guiding spirit of Stanford’s outdoor art collection. Given by his family, friends, the Estate of James Rosati, and The Contemporary Collectors Circle of The Committee for Art, 1996.15

James Rosati was a sculptor who learned how to weld while working in an airplane factory during World War II. As one of the last sculptures Rosati made during his lifetime, Column I signifies a landmark in the artist’s five-decade career.

Column I stands 30 feet tall with tapered ends as if to emulate towering trees. By flaring and curving the top edge of this stainless steel column, Rosati imparts an uplifting effect of monumental elegance. Column I’s soaring construction corresponds with Rosati’s passion for simplicity in geometric form. When asked about the intended meaning of his artworks, Rosati often replied that we do not ask of flowers, for example, what they mean. Instead, he hoped the sculpture would “cause you to stop, look, return and enjoy.”

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