Reclining Liberty

Arlington, Virginia, United States

Public art

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Reclining Liberty by Zaq Landsberg is a 25-foot-long sculpture of the Statue of Liberty lying down, on the front lawn of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, 3550 Wilson Boulevard, Virginia, as of spring 2026 and since 2023. Arlington's review board voted in September 2025 to let it stay.

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Reclining Liberty

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Site-level location · 38.8853° N, 77.1114° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Liberty has lain down on a museum lawn in Virginia. Reclining Liberty, by the artist Zaq Landsberg, is a 25-foot-long sculpture of the Statue of Liberty in a reclining pose, on the front lawn of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington as of spring 2026.

Arlington County says the work takes its inspiration from the giant reclining Buddha statues of Asia, and that when it arrived in 2023 the county invited visitors to touch, climb, sit on and lean against it. The county lists its materials as plaster resin, oxidised copper paint, foam, wood and steel, and says a copper powder and oxidising acid finish gives it a patina like the real Statue of Liberty. It was first installed in Morningside Park, Manhattan, in April 2021, then moved in May 2022 to Liberty State Park in New Jersey. It was lowered onto the Arlington lawn by crane in August 2023, with an opening celebration on 5 August 2023.

The museum is in a former school, opened as the Clarendon School in 1910, in a local historic district. On 17 September 2025 Arlington's Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board voted 9-0 to let the sculpture stay, with proper maintenance as a condition. The museum's executive director told the board the work draws daily visitors who photograph it.

In 2026 the museum was raising funds to buy the sculpture from the artist, who has lent it since 2023, and said the county had approved it remaining. Chicago's Millennium Park is showing a separate third edition, in fibreglass, from July 2026 to October 2027. Admission to the museum is free; its hours are Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5pm.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A large outdoor sculpture on the front lawn of a museum in a former school building. When it arrived in 2023 the county invited people to touch and sit on it. The museum is free, open Wednesday to Sunday noon to 5pm, with free parking. The museum's page lists a run with the sculpture on Saturday 24 October.

ACCESS

Front lawn of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, 3550 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia. The museum offers free parking, and ART Line 41 stops in front. Museum hours are Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5pm.

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