Staring back at SU's statues

The statues across Syracuse University's campus are there thanks in large part to Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović © Jackson Breslin 2026

If you've ever felt like you're being watched walking around SU's campus, you're not wrong. Scattered across SU, campus artworks gaze out on passing students. It's part of what makes Syracuse unique; many of these artworks come from Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, who came to SU in the 1940s.

His arrival was part of Chancellor William Tolley's efforts to add more public art around campus. He envisioned SU as a "museum without walls" according to Taylor Westerlund, the Communications and Outreach Specialist at Syracuse University's Art Museum. Meštrović worked as a professor at SU -- many works in the University's sculpture garden are his own, but he also inspired his students, whose work also graces SU's campus.

Saltine Warrior is one of those works. Created by one of Meštrović's students, it now stands in front of Carnegie Library, but not all of his students' pieces are as grandiose.

Small, curled figures scattered across campus were created by students of Meštrović © Jackson Breslin 2026

Scattered around campus, small figures curl into themselves, hiding from view. These too, were created by students inspired by Meštrović. It's hard to imagine what campus would look like without his influence, and though these statues may go unnoticed to some, once you see them, it's hard to not look at them as you walk to class. Art is for everyone -- that's a motif heard time and again -- but on SU's campus, a concerted effort to make art accessible pays off. With the constant hustle and bustle that comes with being on a college campus, it's easy to walk by a statue's stony glare without a second thought. But sometimes, in the moments of respite, taking a second to meet its eyes can give you a new appreciation for Syracuse's "museum without walls".