The famed bronze statue of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa will center a new exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through this summer.
The statue, depicting the boxer with his gloved fists raised overhead in triumph, has a long association with the museum: Mr. Stallone’s character sprinted up the museum’s steps in a training montage in the 1976 Oscar-winning film “Rocky.”
The exhibit “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” will be open April 25 through Aug. 2. It features more than 150 art pieces and artifacts exploring how fighters and underdogs have been depicted and celebrated over more than 2,000 years.
Curator Paul Farber said he was inspired by his mother to ask why so many line up to see the Rocky statue. He said the statue has become the ultimate pilgrimage site for underdogs who love Philadelphia based on the “Rocky” movies.
