After an extended stay of almost 18 months, the 25-foot sculpture "Forever Marilyn," by Seward Johnson, no longer graces the landscape at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton. Watch video
HAMILTON - "Forever Marilyn" is preparing for another trip.
The 25-foot sculpture of Marilyn Monroe by Seward Johnson, which returned to Grounds for Sculpture last year, was taken down Monday.
For now, the sculpture has been taken to The Seward Johnson Atelier for restoration. Johnson's curator is currently in negotiations with a museum in Australia and a site in Seoul, South Korea to find a new home for the work.
Workers equipped with a crane, cherry picker and an arsenal of tools, spent the day breaking the statue into its four sections, torso, legs, skirt and base - a process they called "de-installing."
The sculpture, finished in 2011, is made of stainless steel and aluminum, weighs in at about 32,000 pounds and can withstand winds of up to 150 mph, Grounds for Sculpture officials have said.
RELATED: Forever Marilyn sculpture welcomed home to Hamilton
The sculpture, depicts the famous pose the Hollywood star struck in the 1955 film "The Seven Year Itch," her white dress billowing up over a New York City subway grate, stood in Chicago and Palm Springs, Calif.
After three years as a tourist attraction, "Forever Marilyn" journeyed back to Hamilton in April 2014, arriving at the Grounds for Sculpture on a truck as two dozen people cheered and took pictures.
During the cross-country journey, people snapped photos of the sculpture in parking lots and along highways and posted them on social media.
Admirers of Seward Johnson's sculptures can see many more of this works at Grounds For Sculpture, including other pieces of monumental scale.
Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.