After decades of institutional resistance, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is bringing the bronze Rocky Balboa statue inside its walls, marking a significant shift in how cultural institutions recognize popular art and working-class symbols. The statue, depicting the fictional boxer with arms raised in victory, has drawn approximately 4 million visitors annually to the museum's steps—rivaling the nearby Liberty Bell in foot traffic—yet the museum once fought to have it removed from its premises.
The relocation comes with the opening this weekend of Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments, an exhibition that examines how a fictional fighter became a real-world symbol and places the statue within art history and Philadelphia's identity. The exhibition was created by guest curator Paul Farber, who spent years exploring the meaning of the statue and public monuments, including through his NPR podcasts, before bringing the conversation into the museum.
A Symbol for Working People Worldwide
The statue's appeal transcends national boundaries, drawing visitors from across the globe who see in Rocky Balboa a representation of perseverance against adversity. David Muller, a wrestling coach from France who ran up the steps with his students, said Balboa's trials and travails are "good for the next generation." He added, "The movie 'Rocky' is important for the mind of sport and the mind of life," as his students raised their hands at the top, smiling and punching the air like boxers.
Kate Tarchalska traveled from Poland with family and made the statue one of their stops. "He was my hero when I was younger," she said. "And now I am so glad I could be in the same spot as him." Suraj Kumar, visiting his aunt in Philadelphia from St. Louis, photographed the statue to share with his father, who first introduced him to the films when he was growing up in Bengaluru, India. "When I got to know this statue is here, I was like, I really have to come down here," Kumar said.
Institutional Barriers Finally Overcome
The museum's journey to acceptance was far from smooth. Louis Marchesano, the museum's deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, acknowledged, "The museum has had—and I hate to say this, no pun intended—a rocky relationship with the statue." He added, "It took us decades to come to terms with it. But I'm glad that we did."
The statue was left on the steps following filming of the Rocky movies, but the museum initially fought to have it removed. It was later relocated to South Philadelphia before returning to the bottom of the steps in 2006. The city owns the spot where the statue sits, not the museum.
Connecting Popular Culture to Art History
The exhibition spans more than 2,000 years of boxing imagery and traces what Marchesano described as a common theme of people responding to the body under struggle. "The common theme that runs throughout 2,000 years of boxing imagery is that people respond to the body under struggle, a conflict in much the same way today as they did 2,500 years ago," Marchesano said. "It's not simply about watching two people beat each other up—it's about endurance, internal fortitude and internal struggle."
One gallery places Rocky in the global boxing fever of the 1970s and features works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, all created during a time when boxing had the world's attention. "In the 1970s, we knew minute by minute who the heavyweight champion of the world was," Marchesano said. "The artists in this gallery are responding to that global frenzy. Sylvester Stallone, in 'Rocky,' was doing the same—thinking about internal and external struggle."
Honoring Philadelphia's Real Boxing Heroes
Another gallery turns to Philadelphia itself, presenting photographs of the Blue Horizon boxing gym and a section on Joe Frazier, whose real-life story at least partially inspired Rocky. "Without Joe Frazier, Rocky doesn't exist," Marchesano said.
When the exhibition closes in August, the statue inside will move to a permanent home at the top of the museum's steps, a place it has never officially held. The statue currently outside remains on loan from Stallone. Rocky's longtime spot at the bottom of the steps will not be empty, because a statue of Frazier will replace it.
Why This Matters:
The museum's decades-long resistance to the Rocky statue reflects broader tensions about which cultural symbols deserve institutional recognition and whose stories matter in public spaces. That millions of working-class visitors from around the world have made pilgrimages to a statue representing perseverance and struggle—often without entering the museum itself—reveals a disconnect between elite cultural institutions and popular expression. The decision to finally welcome Rocky inside, while honoring Joe Frazier's real-life contributions with a replacement statue, represents progress toward recognizing that art and meaning exist beyond traditional gatekeepers. The exhibition's exploration of how people across 2,000 years have responded to images of struggle acknowledges that popular culture can carry profound significance for communities seeking symbols of resilience and dignity.