A 23-foot carbon-fiber astronaut now towers over Constitution Avenue NW, planted outside the Art Museum of the Americas as the newest — and largest — piece of public art tied to Washington, D.C.'s America 250 celebrations. The sculpture, titled “Serve the Flag,” depicts artist Brendan Murphy's signature Boonji Spaceman figure and marks his most prominent D.C. installation yet.
The piece is part of the broader commemoration of America's 250th anniversary, according to WJLA, which reports that Murphy is described as a world-renowned American artist. The station notes that “Serve the Flag” and a companion piece called Freedom 250 use a distinctly contemporary lens to celebrate imagination, freedom, and what organizers describe as the enduring spirit of America. Murphy has said he hopes the Boonji Spaceman will become a more permanent attraction rather than a temporary installation.
An Oil Painting Companion Piece Inside
Freedom 250, Murphy's large-scale oil painting, is displayed inside the Art Museum of the Americas as part of the Passport to Patriotism: 250 Years of Diplomacy exhibition, per the same account. That indoor show will remain on display until October 18, 2026. The museum itself, founded in 1976 by the Organization of American States, is the oldest institution in the United States dedicated specifically to modern and contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean, sitting on the historic OAS headquarters grounds near the National Mall.
Passport to Patriotism represents a notable moment for the federal government's approach to public art. The exhibition marks the first time the U.S. Department of State's Office of Art in Embassies program — which has placed American art inside diplomatic residences worldwide since 1964 — has staged a major public museum exhibition in Washington, D.C., according to East City Art. Inside the museum, the show features work from more than 30 contemporary American artists and includes 68 artistic interpretations of the American flag, among them a flag sculpture built from 44,500 toy soldiers by artist Kevin Champney.
Who's Behind The Initiative
The Passport to Patriotism initiative was directed by Erin Scavino, a former contestant on The Apprentice whom President Donald Trump appointed as Director of the Office of Art in Embassies to lead visual arts programming for the nation's 250th anniversary, according to the U.S. Department of State. The exhibition was co-organized by the American Arts Conservancy, a non-profit whose board includes both Murphy and fellow participating artist Brandon Ralph.
Murphy's path to monumental sculpture wound through professional basketball in Europe and a stint as a Wall Street trader in New York, a career he left to pursue art full-time following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to background compiled by Carousel Fine Art. He coined the term BOONJI to signify positive energy derived from creativity, and he inscribes his spaceman sculptures with chalkboard-style formulas, mathematical equations, and optimistic symbols meant to evoke that philosophy.
Part Of A Growing D.C. Footprint
This is not Murphy's first monumental spaceman to touch down in the capital. The Kennedy Center previously showcased another of his sculptures, a 22-foot, 3,000-pound carbon-fiber Boonji Spaceman titled A Step Forward, from March to April 2025 as part of its EARTH to SPACE festival, according to the Kennedy Center. Murphy's spaceman figures have also landed well beyond Washington, including a 13-foot carbon-fiber astronaut installed at Minute Maid Park for the Houston Astros in 2022 and a 7-meter public installation gifted to Perth, Australia, in May 2025 to honor the city's City of Light space history.
Murphy also ventured into the digital realm with his spaceman concept. In October 2021, he launched the Boonji Project, a collection of 11,111 digital avatars derived from his physical sculptures and paintings, which raised more than $15.5 million in its primary sale — a figure that set the record for the largest primary NFT sale in history.
The Constitution Avenue debut arrives amid a broader run of America 250 programming across the capital region, from the National Mall Grand Prix to Anne Arundel County's new America 250 trail. Whether “Serve the Flag” ultimately becomes the lasting Constitution Avenue fixture Murphy has said he hopes for remains to be seen, but for now it stands as one of the most visible new additions to the city's semiquincentennial art scene.
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