The bronze statue of fictional heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa will be displayed inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the first time beginning Saturday, marking the 50th anniversary of the original film. The figure, which has stood on the museum steps for more than two decades, has been a familiar sight and a longtime symbol of the city.
The relocation is part of the museum’s exhibition Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments. The show brings together more than 150 works by dozens of artists alongside artifacts spanning more than 2,000 years, using the Rocky statue as a focal point to explore how monuments are created, contested, and transformed.
According to the museum, Rising Up blends art, sports, and popular culture to investigate the meanings and mythologies that attach to monuments. The installation will prompt conversations about memory, identity, power, and representation in public art, and examine how monuments are made and remade by artists, communities, and time.
The bronze figure, posed with gloved hands raised in triumph, has become part of Philadelphia’s cultural identity, likened to landmarks such as the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Originally a prop left after filming Rocky III in 1982, the statue has long sparked debate over whether a movie prop can be considered art. Its placement inside the museum signals a changing view of what belongs in the gallery.
“The Rocky statue is the most visited and photographed public artwork in Philadelphia, attracting nearly as many annual visitors as the Statue of Liberty,” said Louis Marchesano, deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation. He added that Rising Up gives the museum a chance to reframe Rocky’s story and its role in the city’s civic and cultural identity.
The exhibition runs through Aug. 2.