Public_art_in_Central_Park

Public art in Central Park

Public art in Central Park

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New York City's 843-acre (3.41 km2) Central Park is the home of many works of public art in various media, such as bronze, stone, and tile. Many are sculptures in the form of busts, statues, equestrian statues, and panels carved or cast in low relief. Others are two-dimensional bronze or tile plaques. Some artworks do double-duty as fountains, or as part of fountains; some serve as memorials dedicated to a cause, to notable individuals, and in one case, to a notable animal. Most were donated by individuals or civic organizations; only a few were funded by the city.

The gilded bronze statue of the Sherman Monument (dedicated in 1903), sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens on a pedestal designed by Charles Follen McKim.[1]

Examples of public art in the park include memorials dedicated to notable individuals such as the poet William Shakespeare and the statesman Daniel Webster; depictions of archetypical characters such as The Pilgrim, Indian Hunter, and The Falconer; depictions of literary characters such as Alice in Wonderland; numerous depictions of imaginary animals, and at least one of a real one (the statue of Balto). The only artifact from the ancient world is the Egyptian obelisk known as "Cleopatra's Needle", the oldest and tallest artwork in the park.

The bronze statue Angel of the Waters at Bethesda Terrace, by Emma Stebbins, atop a stone basin by Jacob Wrey Mould and Central Park's co-designer Calvert Vaux.[2]

Traditionally, depictions of real (as opposed to imaginary) humans were men, whereas depictions of women have been either mythological characters (angels or goddesses) or characters from literature. The installation in 2020 of the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument, depicting three female activists, was a first step in addressing this oversight.

In recent years, park administrators have provided a forum for temporary exhibitions of artwork at the Doris Freedman Plaza, just outside the park's southeast entrance.

List of public art in Central Park

More information Name, Location / GPS Coordinates ...

Public art in Central Park now removed

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Temporary installations of public art

More information Name, Location / GPS Coordinates ...

Notes

    References

    1. [1]
      Kahn, Eve (October 2021). "The Woman who was Victory". The Magazine Antiques. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
    2. [2]
      "Emma Stebbins, who sculpted a New York angel," The New York Times, May 29, 2019.
    3. [3]
      "Hans Christian Andersen". Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
    4. [4]
      Susanne Stephens. “Snack stand for Central Park Ball Field,” The New York Times, July 12, 1990, Section C, page 3. According to the article, the frieze was designed by William Braham, an architect at Buttrick White & Burtis, and fabricated by Brenda Bertin.
    5. [5]
      "Balto, (sculpture)". Shahbaz Akhtar. Save Outdoor Sculpture, New York, New York survey. 1993. Retrieved February 7, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
    6. [6]
      Central Park’s version of the sculpture is signed "J. SUÑOL"; it bears the foundry mark of Federico Masriera, Barcelona, 1892.
    7. [7]
      Arcidi, Philip (December 1993). "Learning by the Rules" (PDF). Progressive Architecture. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
    8. [8]
      "The Arts and Crafts in Architecture Today," Classicist No. 3 (1996–97): 90–96. According to the article, the plaque was designed by Michael Dwyer, an architect at Buttrick White & Burtis, and fabricated by Brenda Bertin.
    9. [9]
      Arcidi, Philip (December 1993). "Learning by the Rules" (PDF). Progressive Architecture. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
    10. [10]
      "Duke Ellington Memorial dedicated in Harlem," from ArtNet.
    11. [11]
      "Tablet is unveiled at old Fort Clinton," The New York Times, November 25, 1906.
    12. [12]
      Andreas W. Daum, "Nation, Naturforschung und Monument: Humboldt-Denkmäler in Deutschland und den USA" [Humboldt monuments in Germany and the US]. Die Kunst der Geschichte: Historiographie, Ästhetik, Erzählung, ed. Martin Baumeister et al. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009, 113‒15.
    13. [13]
      Central Park 2000: Alexander von Humboldt; NYC Dept of Parks & Recreation: Alexander von Humboldt Monument
    14. [14]
      ""Sculpture"". Architects and Builders Magazine. 2 (8): 350. May 1901. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
    15. [15]
      Daniec, Jadwiga Irena (1982). "In the Footsteps of Stanislaw K. Ostrowski, 1879–1947". The Polish Review. 27 (1/2): 77–91. JSTOR 25777864.
    16. [16]
      Mazzini address
    17. [17]
      "The Untermyer Fountain". Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
    18. [18]
      "Daniel Webster". Central Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
    19. [19]
      Kolodny, Sarah (July 24, 2018). "First Statue of Real Women to Debut in Central Park in 2020". NBC New York. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
    20. [20]
      Halle, Howard (July 24, 2018). "Central Park's first-ever female statue is coming in 2020". Time Out New York. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
    21. [21]
      "The Lost Auld Lang Syne Sculpture in Central Park," Daytonian in Manhattan, June 18, 2012.
    22. [22]
      Michael Reed, "The Equestrian Monument of Simon Bolivar."
    23. [23]
      Theodore Dreiser, "The Sculpture of Fernanado Miranda," Ainslee's Magazine 2 (September 1898), pp. 113–18.
    24. [24]
      The Sun's Guide to New York (1892), p. 122
    25. [25]
      "Cervantes. A Monument to be erected in Central Park to the memory of the famed Spanish Writer," The New York Herald, May 18, 1878.
    26. [26]
      Illustrated in A Description of the New York Central Park. With illustrations by Albert Finch Bellows (1869), p. 92.
    27. [27]
      Shepard Fountain, from SIRIS.
    28. [28]
      Rebecca Savransky, "Central Park statue of controversial doctor who conducted research on women removed," The Hill, April 18, 2018.
    29. [29]
      The Boy with Swan, from Christies London.
    30. [30]
      Seventh Annual Report of the Board of Commissioners of the Central Park for the Year Ending with December 31, 1863. New York. Wm. C. Bryant & Co. 1864. page 56.
    31. [31]
      Carol Vogel, "The Murakami Influence," The New York Times, April 6, 2005.
    32. [32]
      Rich Calder, "Shoddy work cut short Central Park art exhibit: suit," The New York Post, October 18, 2013.
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