Philadelphia’s LOVE statue artist, Robert Indiana, dies at 89

Artist Robert Indiana, best known for his 1960s LOVE series, has died at his home in Maine. He was 89.

Indiana created a LOVE statue for Philadelphia in 1976, which is installed in Love Park just Northwest of City Hall. This and the many other iterations of his LOVE series in which the L and a leaning O sit atop the V and the E made him an internationally known artist.

But in at 2014 interview with NPR, Indiana said that design became too popular.

“It was a marvelous idea, but it was also a terrible mistake. It became too popular; it became too popular. And there are people who don’t like popularity. It’s much better to be exclusive and remote. That’s why I’m on an island off the coast of Maine, you see,” he said.

He was  known for living a secluded life on Vinalhaven Island.

Indiana’s attorney says the artist died Saturday from respiratory failure.

________________________________

The Associated Press contributed to this report.