‘Rumors of War’ statue to be installed in Richmond

Kehinde Wiley’s “Rumors of War," which was previously located in New York City's Times Square, will be permanently installed Dec. 10 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. — Kehinde Wiley’s “Rumors of War,” which was previously located in New York City’s Times Square, will be permanently installed Dec. 10 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. ((WTOP/Michelle Basch))

Visual artist Kehinde Wiley, best known for his portrayals of contemporary African-American and African-Diasporic individuals, appears at the unveiling his first monumental public sculpture “Rumors of War,” an equestrian portraiture of warfare and heroism, Friday Sept. 27, 2019, in New York. The work will be exhibited in Times Square through December 1.

A bronze sculpture, “Rumors of War,” by artist Kehinde Wiley, appears in Times Square at an unveiling on Friday Sept. 27, 2019, in New York. The work, depicting of a young African American in urban streetwear sitting astride a galloping horse, will be exhibited through December 1.

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A monumental bronze statue that mimics one of Virginia’s most prominent Confederate monuments will soon have a new home in Richmond.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports artist Kehinde Wiley’s “Rumors of War” will be permanently installed Dec. 10 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The statue depicts a young black male dressed in streetwear mounted atop a horse and has been on display in Times Square since its unveiling there in September.

The 29-foot-high work originated when Wiley saw Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s statue on Monument Avenue. Wiley is known for his paintings of black Americans and his commissioned portrait of President Barack Obama, displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.

The newspaper says “Rumors of War” is the most expensive acquisition of a sculpture the VMFA has ever made.

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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com