Artwork Details
- Title
- Milord la Chamarre
- Artist
- Jean Dubuffet (1901 – 1985)
- Year
- 1973; installed 1976; relocated 1990 and 2019
- Medium
- Stainless steel with black epoxy paint (granite platform on stainless steel column)
- Dimensions
- Height 24′ (base height 5'2", column height 10'2″)
Artwork Description
*Sculpture is now located inside in the Centre Square atrium
In acquiring Milord la Chamarre for Centre Square, developer Jack Wolgin was attracted by the figure’s resemblance to a Philadelphia mummer in costume. The title translates roughly to “My Lord of the Fancy Vest,” but local people often refer to the work as “The Mummer.” Along with Oldenburg’s Clothespin, Milord was installed in 1976 as part of the Redevelopment Authority’s Percent for Art program.
An example of the style Jean Dubuffet termed l’art brut, a raw art untouched by convention, Milord la Chamarre resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle, an effect both disturbing and humorous. Milord looks boastful about his fancy vest; with his open mouth and hands-out strut, he is a bit ridiculous, a bit fearsome, a bit sad – much like Everyman. Originally placed in the atrium of Centre Square in 1976, the 5,000-pound work was relocated to the exterior when the building’s new owners embarked on a major renovation. In 2019, Milord was moved back inside to its original location in the Centre Square atrium.
Content on this page was adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, 1992). Bach was the longtime Executive Director of the Association for Public Art, working with the organization from 1980 to 2022.
Artwork Credits
Acquired by Jack Wolgin
Owned by the property owner