Donna Reiner has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials. She is a regular contributor to our newsletter. This month, Donna tells us about the unique art that you can find at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Rush into Sky Harbor Airport, hope the lines are short to clear security quickly, and then find a seat while waiting for the plane to arrive. For many this is a common practice. But for some, there is the more leisurely and deliberate method of heading to Sky Harbor Airport so they can see the latest art on display and in the case of Terminal 4, the Art Museum.
Didn’t know there is a museum in the airport? Next time, you need to stop and enjoy what our airport has to offer in each terminal.
Previously, we covered the Paul Coze mural in Terminal 2, but let’s focus on portable art. That’s art that moves, and in the case of Sky Harbor Airport, sometimes from one terminal to another.
Terminal 2, originally called East Terminal to distinguish it from West Terminal (Terminal 1), was home to one of the first portable pieces in the Phoenix Airport Collection which now numbers close to 1,000 pieces.
Sometime after the opening dedication of East Terminal in May 1962, the Phoenix Art Museum placed a four-foot bronze sculpture on a long-term loan to the airport. “The Skirt” by Betti Richard had been donated to the art museum by Friends of the Museum for its opening dedication in November 1959. Records on why this particular sculpture was on loan to the airport do not seem to exist. In 1967, the Board of Trustees of the Phoenix Fine Arts Association gifted the sculpture to the City of Phoenix.
“The Skirt” was cast in a mold that was made from a clay sculpture and the artist had a special chemical mixture added to the bronze so it would have a brown patina. Ms. Richard entered the sculpture in the 43rd Annual Exhibition of the Allied Artists of America in 1956 where it won a Gold Medal of Honor award which helps with dating the piece. The sculpture was strategically placed in front of the Terminal, but no photos seem to exist of it there, so no one is quite sure exactly where it was.
Being outside for years with our harsh weather and sprinklers (once there was grass in front of the terminal) caused a great deal of damage to this stunning figure. It gained a refurbished patina in 2005 courtesy of Arizona Bronze. Now she is on display inside Terminal 4 where you can enjoy this representation of women in general, poised in a sweeping dance gesture.
