20 Awesome Boston Public Art Pieces to Check Out This Summer

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A burst of development has recently overtaken the Boston public art scene.

Just in the past month, five area nonprofit organizations received more than $50,000 in grants for public art projects, another nonprofit group released a call for artwork submissions to adorn South Station, and Mayor Walsh announced a project that would designate free wall spaces around the city for graffiti artists.

But while there’s always room for growth, we took the time to evaluate the already-existing rich array of public art in the city. From popular attractions like the ducklings at the Common, to more tucked-away pieces like Os Gemeos’s mural on a side of the Revere Hotel, to time-of-day-dependent works like Harbor Fog on the Greenway, there’s something for everyone to check out in Boston.

Here are 20 great public art pieces to look for around town this summer. Use the map above to find exactly where they are in the city. Keep in mind—this list offers only a sampling of all that Boston public art has to offer, so we encourage you to take advantage of the summer weather and keep exploring on your own.

20 Awesome Boston Public Art Pieces

Make Way for Ducklings, Nancy Schön

In 1941, Robert McCloskey published a popular children’s book about a family of ducks that settles in the Public Garden. Now a city landmark, this sculpture by Schön depicts Mrs. Mallard, the mother duck, leading her eight ducklings to their new home. During special events, the ducklings are dressed up in outfits for the occasion.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Untitled, Os Gemeos

This mural, located on the Stuart Street side of the Revere Hotel, was created by Os Gemeos, the same Brazilian identical twins who painted the controversial “Giant of Boston” mural that once adorned Dewey Square, and displays a similar playful nature.Photo by Geoff Hargadon/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Geoff Hargadon/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Learning, Religion, and Industry, Arcangelo Cascieri & Adio DiBiccari

The three figures on the Common represent the city’s intellectual, spiritual, and industrial energy, and are dedicated to philanthropist George Francis Parkman, Jr. Sculptors DiBiccari and Cascieri were uncles to Louis and Michael DiBiccari, the brothers who own Tavern Road restaurant in Fort Point.Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Mosaics in Tadpole Playground, Marvin and Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg

The colorful mosaic just inside the gated entranceway was created by Lilli Ann Rosenberg, the same artist behind a number of artworks scattered throughout the city, including a large mosaic in Park Street Station. You can admire her vibrant mosaic technique, while the kids can play with the frog statues on the playground.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Mary Dyer, Sylvia Shaw Judson

In 1660, Mary Dyer was hanged on the Common for repeatedly challenging traditional Puritan beliefs with more progressive—and at the time supposedly heretical—views. Now, she is celebrated with a statue in front of the State House as an advocate for religious freedom.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

City Carpet/Hopscotch, Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg

This mosaic marks the original site of the nation’s first public school, Boston Latin, and is appropriately modeled after a hopscotch grid. Fun fact: The mosaic includes girls in its depictions of playing children, but was installed only 11 years after Boston Latin officially became co-ed.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Wall Drawing #1128, Sol LeWitt

Working as a conceptual artist, Sol LeWitt did not create this work with his own hands. Instead, he came up with precise written instructions and diagrams to be handed off to a group of assistants, who then brought his idea to life.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

New England Holocaust Memorial, Stanley Saitowitz

Each glass tower represents a Nazi concentration camp and is inscribed with numbers from 0,000,001 to 6,000,000, referencing the practice of tattooing serial numbers on camp detainees. A time capsule with the names of people who died during the Holocaust is buried at one end of the monument, which was created by a group of survivors living in the Boston area.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Light Blades, Dennis Carmichael

It’s best to visit this installation in the evening, when the Light Blades, which evoke masts of tall ships and glass walls of nearby office buildings, illuminate the Greenway with various hues.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Harbor Fog, Ross Miller

This interactive installation responds to movement, evoking changing light conditions and weather patterns with LED lights, fog machines, and sound, bringing a bit of the natural harbor environment into an urban area. Visiting during warmer months is recommended for the most dramatic viewing experiences—it’s a perfect spot for a summer evening walk.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

The Fish, Steve Israel and HarborArts Team

A massive steel cod dominates the HarborArts exhibition space at the Boston Harbor Shipyard. Its monumentality serves to highlight a local issue—that excessive commercial fishing has driven the codfish, an unofficial symbol of Boston, near extinction.Photo by Sarah Nichols/Flickr

Photo by Sarah Nichols/Flickr

Starry Night, Lisa Greenfield and Daniel J. van Ackere

This LED art installation in Fort Point serves two purposes—transforming an overlooked public space and increasing safety by illuminating a dark underpass.Photo by Daniel J. van Ackere/Courtesy of Fort Points Art Community, Inc.

Photo by Daniel J. van Ackere/Courtesy of Fort Points Art Community, Inc.

LandWave, Shauna Gillies-Smith, Michael Kilkelly, France Cormier

This South End marks the location of the Boston Neck, a narrow isthmus that once connected Shawmut Peninsula to the mainland. It celebrates the duality of the city’s landscape, with one side resembling a reflective ocean and the other, covered with mulch and grass, depicting land. Visit the LandWave at night to see it lit with LED bulbs.Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Dorchester Voices/Dorchester History, Laura Baring Gould

Back when Marty Walsh was just a candidate for mayor, he named the Clapp Pear—an element of the Dorchester Voices/Dorchester History installation, which also contains 10 satellite sculptures—as his favorite public art piece in Boston. “I know not everybody likes the sculpture, but it means a lot to the people of the neighborhood, and it enlivens an area that has had challenges,” he said.Photo by Adam Pieniazek/Flickr

Photo by Adam Pieniazek/Flickr

Helion/Lollipop, Robert Amory

Now located in Roxbury, this kinetic sculpture was once known as a Downtown Crossing landmark, standing in front of 100 Summer Street for 25 years. When the building was sold, its new owners requested for the sculpture to be moved to a different location, spurring protests from area residents. The disks rotate and can endure even the strongest of Boston gusts.Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Uplift, Mia Pearlman

This sculpture—the first metalwork by Mia Pearlman, a Brooklyn-based artist known for her paper installations—consists of two parts. The first is located in front of Liberty Mutual’s headquarters in Back Bay, swirling from the sidewalk, while the second is located inside the building, hanging behind a curtain of glass in the atrium.Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by BAC Staff/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Quest Eternal, Donald DeLue

Reaching toward the sky in front of the Prudential Tower, this enormous Renaissance-style statue embodies humanity’s endless pursuit of knowledge. Fun facts: It stands 27 feet tall, weighs five tons, and was cast at a foundry in Italy—impressively all in one piece.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Ayer Mansion Windows, Louis Comfort Tiffany

Tiffany once declared his lifelong goal was “the pursuit of beauty.” There are only three surviving houses known to contain his interior designs in their original site, and this Back Bay residence is one of them. But wait, it gets better—the interiors of the other two are actually redesigns, leaving the Ayer Mansion as the only example of a house designed entirely by Tiffany.Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Photo by Deborah Noyes/Courtesy of Boston Art Commission

Leif Eriksson, Anne Whitney

Back in the day, it was believed that famed Norse explorer Leif Eriksson landed on the shore of Massachusetts. Now, however, most scholars believe that he landed on the Canadian coast. Still, this life-size bronze statue overlooks the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, appearing to survey an unfamiliar land.Photo by John Niedermeyer/Flickr

Photo by John Niedermeyer/Flickr

Greetings from Allston Village, Greg Bernstein

This mural, painted on the side of Kaju Tofu House on Harvard Avenue, celebrates the community of the neighborhood. Executed through a collaboration among the Mayor’s Office, Allston Village Main Streets, police officers from District D-14, and artist Greg Bernstein, it provides a warm welcome for residents and visitors into the Allston Village Business District.Photo by Olga Khvan

Photo by Olga Khvan