USF Proposed Picasso Statue

Picasso's Bust of a Woman was planned to be erected at USF in the early 1970s by the sculptor, Carl Nesjar. The sculpture was meant to stand over 100 feet tall and be part of a fine arts complex near the current fine arts building on the Tampa campus. Sometime after the Board of Regents approved the plan in 1973 the fund raising campaign failed to meet its goal. Plans for the sculpture have been investigated multiple times since by people contemplating a revival of the project.

This collection includes a slideshow presented to potential investors, illustrations of mock-ups, radio and press conference audio, other images used for marketing, and relevant documents from the University Archives. These materials help to illuminate the mystery surrounding the sculpture and the sunsetting of the project.