Cupid's Span Sculpture and Rincon Park: The Archer of the Bay

Why is it significant?

Stand on the green rolling lawn of Rincon Park along the Embarcadero and look up at the whimsical, monumental form of 'Cupid's Span'. Installed in 2002, this sixty-foot-tall painted fiberglass and steel sculpture was created by the world-renowned pop art duo Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Stand on the green rolling lawn of Rincon Park along the Embarcadero and look up at the whimsical, monumental form of 'Cupid's Span'. Installed in 2002, this sixty-foot-tall painted fiberglass and steel sculpture was created by the world-renowned pop art duo Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Commissioned by Gap founders Donald and Doris Fisher as a private philanthropic gift to the City of San Francisco, the sculpture depicts a colossal winged archer's bow and arrow embedded in the earth, its taut golden cable string stretching gracefully against the blue sky.

Look through the open curve of the bow to see how Oldenburg and van Bruggen brilliantly framed the surrounding landscape. The sweeping arc of the red bow perfectly mirrors the graceful suspension curves of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge stretching across the water behind it. The artists explained that the arrow buried in the lawn represents Eros shooting an arrow of love directly into the heart of the city, celebrating San Francisco's historic identity as a home for romantic dreamers and open-hearted lovers.

The bow is constructed from aircraft-grade structural steel encased in molded fiberglass and coated in brilliant coats of yellow, red, and blue polyurethane paint designed to resist corrosive saltwater spray and ultraviolet sun bleaching. On windy afternoons, the sculpture stands as an anchor along the bustling Embarcadero promenade. Every surrounding viewpoint, historic brick facade, and open-air plaza tells an essential chapter of California's ongoing transformation from a rugged frontier town into a world-renowned Pacific metropolis. Every surrounding viewpoint, historic brick facade, and open-air plaza tells an essential chapter of California's ongoing transformation from a rugged frontier town into a world-renowned Pacific metropolis. Every surrounding viewpoint, historic brick facade, and open-air plaza tells an essential chapter of California's ongoing transformation from a rugged frontier town into a world-renowned Pacific metropolis.

Turn around to view the restored historic steam ferry piers that once welcomed tens of thousands of commuters daily before the bridges were built.

Stroll south along the waterfront promenade toward the deep-water public pier at Pier 14.