Whether he has an eye for art or for controversy, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato has intervened for a second time to prevent the removal of a prominent sculpture that has graced Pittsburgh International Airport since 1992.

Mr. Onorato ordered the airport authority yesterday to stop dismantling "Silver Grid Wall" from its space above the main escalators in the Airside Building, the airport's passenger terminal.

The airport authority notified artist Peter Calaboyias in a Feb. 3 letter that his sculpture, 78 feet long and 8 feet high, was being removed to clear the way for advertising. It had begun taking down the work yesterday.

Authority Executive Director Bradley D. Penrod also wrote in the letter that officials had been unable to find another location in the airport to display the piece intact, as Mr. Onorato had wanted in April.

The letter caught Mr. Calaboyias by surprise. While the authority had been interested in using the space for advertising since last spring, he said he did not know until he got the letter that it had found a sponsor and had started to dismantle his work.

"That was deliberately done so they could remove it with no controversy," he said of the late notice. "It was one of those clandestine attacks."

"We want to preserve the artwork at the airport," said Kevin Evanto, Mr. Onorato's spokesman. "We think it's a great piece of art."

Mr. Onorato is not opposed to using the "Silver Grid Wall" space for advertising. But he believes the authority should be able to find another spot at the airport to display it.

The authority estimated in April the space could generate about $16,000 a month.

Airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said officials scoured the airport looking for another spot "to honor" the sculpture but couldn't find any.

Mr. Calaboyias said he would be open to having the sculpture moved to another location, as long as it's visible and stays intact. "That's reasonable," he said.

The artist will meet with the authority and Mr. Onorato's staff next week to try to find a solution. He stressed he is opposed to having it segmented to fit space.

"You wouldn't cut up an Andy Warhol poster and just use half of it or the Mona Lisa or a Van Gogh. It would be better for the work not to exist than to show half of it," he said.