The fate of one of the most iconic artworks in the nation’s capital has been officially resolved months after The Cultural Landscape Foundation assured that its future would be set in stone.  

Artist Elyn Zimmerman’s massive granite Marabar installation has found a new home after a planned modernization at D.C.’s National Geographic Society previously caused uncertainty about its future. 

The New York Times is reporting that the million-pound installation will now be relocated to the campus of American University following an agreement between the two institutions. The university’s art museum is taking the piece that served as the centerpiece of the David Childs-designed building since its inception in 1984.  

The Society had previously announced its intention to do away with the piece in lieu of a new plaza from Hickock Cole and OLIN which featured a pavilion and trendy rooftop garden. The installation seemed doomed after the city’s Historic Preservation Board okayed the removal before TCLF stepped in this March to secure its future, organizing a successful petition drive that culminated in National Geographic’s promise to donate and reinstall each of the four stones, which weigh around 250,000 pounds each. 

Now, with a deal in place to finally foment a permanent home for the E.M. Forester-inspired artwork, TCLF’s president Charles Birnbaum says he is relieved to have found a second home for a seminal piece in the history of landscape architecture that his organization worked so hard to preserve. 

“While we’re disappointed that ‘Marabar’ will not remain in situ,” Birnbaum said, “we applaud the society for working with Ms. Zimmerman on this resolution.”

AU Katzen Arts Center director Jack Rasmussen added that he hopes the back-and-forth will serve as a “teachable moment” for similar quandaries. The reinstallation will include a newly designed water feature according to Zimmerman. TCLF has an oral history of the artwork here.

Update Dec 30, 2021: A previous version of the article gave the impression that the installation was going to be demolished rather than relocated. We also corrected the statement that the National Geographic Society was donating the sculpture instead of selling it as stated earlier.