Students returned from spring break to discover “Broken Obelisk” had disappeared from its place in Red Square.

The obelisk was removed for renovation, said Norm Arkans, the UW’s executive director of media relations.

“Periodically it gets cleaned and refurbished,” he said.

The statue should be back in its place in a couple of months, said Kurt Kiefer, the UW campus art administrator.

Specifically, the restoration will focus on the point of intersection between the pyramid and obelisk. The area was repaired and thickened in the 1980s, when the statue started leaning because of a structural flaw.

“It was not well made to begin with,” Kiefer said. “I don’t really believe people thought it would be around for this long.”

The statue was designed by Barnett Newman in 1963 and is one of three almost identical pieces. One of the others is at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the third is at the Menil Collection in Houston.

The repair made in the 1980s made the UW’s statue unique among the three, and the dissimilarity has been an issue for years, Kiefer said.

“Ours is different, just a little bit, but because it is an important piece, all three should be identical,” he said.

Kiefer said the obelisks in New York and Houston have also been restored. Virginia Wright, who donated the statue to the UW, is funding the restoration, which will cost about $30,000.

Removal of the 2-ton statue took more than three hours and required the use of heavy equipment, including a crane. Fabrication Specialties Ltd., a local company experienced in maintaining public art, is making the repairs.

“When it comes back, people will scratch their heads and wonder what’s different,” Kiefer said.

[Reach reporter Erinn Unger at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]