Maquette for Old Cabell Hall mural, 2006 Lincoln Perry Oil on wood, 35 x 42 in. Courtesy of Lincoln Perry and Les Yeux du Monde Gallery

Not since the first decade of the 20th century has public art so enriched the University’s grounds. Lincoln Perry began a mural cycle commissioned for the lobby of Stanford White’s Cabell Hall in 1999 and has recently added two frescoes in the stairwells leading to the auditorium. Eleven panels tell the story of a female student’s journey from her first day of class to graduation on the Lawn. Populated by life-size figures, the lively scenes invite viewers to feel a part of college life.

Photograph of Alexander Calder’s “Tripes” (1974), 2009 Dan Addison, photographer © 2009 Calder Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York [only thumbnail size available]

In 2009, the Calder Foundation loaned a large steel sculpture made in 1974 by the iconic American modern artist, Alexander Calder. Unlike Calder’s famous moving sculptures such as the giant piece in the National Gallery of Art’s East Wing, this “stabile” is a stationary mobile. Located in the Alderman Library quadrangle, the sculpture punctuates one of the most trafficked spaces in central grounds.