People Inc. recently sold a large sculpture in the shape of a garden trowel by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, which became a landmark in Des Moines, Iowa.
The media company, formerly known as Dotdash Meredith, announced the sale of the 23-foot-tall sculpture Plantoir (2001) on August 22 but did not disclose the name of the buyer, where it will be relocated, or the price paid.
“We recently finalized the sale of the Plantoir, the art installation situated near the campus entrance,” said a statement issued by People Inc to the Des Moines Register, which first reported the news of the sale. “The sale was completed with an out-of-state buyer that made a significant offer for the piece. We agreed to the sale only after offering the piece to local organizations. The Plantoir will likely be moved to the new owner before the end of September.”
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The 2,300-pound aluminum, fiber-reinforced plastic and steel sculpture was designed by the couple to withstand wind speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, and has been recognized as the World’s Largest Garden Trowel Sculpture by the World Record Academy.
Plantoir was installed on the former campus of Meredith Corp. in the city’s downtown in 2002, after the publishing company bought it to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Better Homes and Gardens.
Before its purchase by Meredith Corp., Plantoir was also exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden in Manhattan in 2002, according to the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation.
People Inc. declined to tell the Des Moines Register which local organizations had been offered the chance to purchase Plantoir.
The bright red trowel sculpture was also the second public art piece designed by Oldenburg and van Bruggen installed in Des Moines. The first one was Crusoe Umbrella, a large steel and polyurethane enamel sculpture commissioned by the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines and installed in 1979.]
Another version of Plantoir is currently installed in the gardens of the Serralves Foundation, in Porto, Portugal. Plantoir, Blue was temporarily exhibited at the Channel Gardens in Rockefeller Center in New York City in 2022.