Robert Smithson’s famed Land art piece Spiral Jetty added to US National Register of Historic Places

Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970), arguably the most famous work of Land art in the world, has been added to the US’s National Register of Historic Places. The recognition means that Spiral Jetty is liable to come to the attention of a broader public than the art devotees who already make the trek to the northern shores of Utah’s Great Salt Lake to glimpse the work. Being on the National Register of Historic Places, which is administered by the National Park Service, also means an emphasis on preservation, which is crucial given the work’s sensitive ecological setting.

“We are delighted that Spiral Jetty has received this important recognition, which will help us spread awareness of the iconic artwork and advocate for its long-term preservation,” Jessica Morgan, the director of the Dia Art Foundation, which stewards the work, said in a statement. “In the 54 years that Spiral Jetty has existed, it has been both submerged by the Great Salt Lake and stood far from the lake front, bearing witness to the changing landscape around it.”

The large earthwork—consisting of more than 6,000 tons of black basalt arranged in a coiling, 1,500ft-long and 15ft-wide form—was donated to Dia in 1999 through Smithson’s estate and his widow, the Land artist Nancy Holt. Dia manages it jointly with the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University and the Holt/Smithson Foundation, with support from the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. In 2017, it was named the official state artwork of Utah.

“The protective review afforded by the National Register designation further advances our efforts to preserve Spiral Jetty as Smithson intended and elevates the work of our local partners in conserving the natural environment of the Great Salt Lake, which is integral to the work itself,” Jordan Carter, a curator at Dia, added in a statement.

Established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register of Historic Places now includes more than 95,000 properties, ranging from homes designed by famous architects like Frank Lloyd Wright to sites of historic significance like Civil War forts and major tourist destinations like the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Other art pieces already in the National Register mostly include statues and monuments commemorating historic figures, although it also includes ancient petroglyphs in the Southwest, as well as sites of artistic significance like the New York Studio School in Manhattan. Spiral Jetty appears to be the first piece of Land art added to the National Register. Smithson died in a plane crash just three years after completing the project, aged 35.