UTICA, NY.- The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art announces the acquisition of Richard Long’s “Half Moon,” 2015, an impressive sculpture of red slate that was quarried in eastern New York State. Long (British, born 1945) is a pioneer of the Land Art movement from the 1960s, when artists questioned the commodification of their work and created ephemeral projects with unusual materials, including time – which can be governed by the sun or moon or geology.

Long said the subject of his art is “where my human characteristics meet the natural forces and patterns of the world.” Half Moon resembles a rough-hewn or mountainous terrain, as seen from above. The half-circle is a typical shape for Long, who juxtaposes organic, irregular stones within a geometric shape to unite nature and reason.

“Richard Long is a pioneering artist who has redefined the essence of sculpture,” Mary Murray, Head, Curatorial and Exhibitions; Curator Modern and Contemporary Art, said. “The Museum is proud to acquire a significant work by him, especially because he was not previously represented in the collection.”

In his five-decade career, Long has been recognized for the new vision he brought to sculpture and has received many prestigious awards, notably the Turner Prize, 1989, and the Praemium Imperiale Art Award in 2009. In January 2018 he was knighted in the UK New Year's Honours for services to art.

With more than 13,500 pieces in its permanent collection, concerts, community classes and a college of art and design, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute is the cultural heart of Central New York.

The Museum of Art presents 15 exhibitions annually, drawing from the permanent collection and from travelling exhibitions from other leading institutions. These are featured in a 1960 Museum building designed by Philip Johnson and in Fountain Elms, the 1858 ancestral home of the Institute’s founders.