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Places of Sculpture - The Northeast Coast

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I have this weird dream about living on the east coast, and I'm positive that one of the reasons is the artwork there. I'm not talking about the upscale galleries in New York that sell extremely modern art and nothing else, but about the public art. Have you ever wondered why people love to go to places like Rome and Paris? Now you know.

I want to start off with New York. We all know about the Statue of Liberty. I don't even need to post pictures, but that is one freaking fantastic statue. Next on my list isn't as impressive, but it's still pretty good.

Columbus Monument in Columbus Circle, Central Park, New York
This is a monument to Christopher Columbus. No, that's not him that you can see there, but an angel (really quite subtle and lovely). Chris is at the top, which is hard to see from there. Here's another view:

Columbus Circle Sculpture, top, Christopher Columbus
Personally, I like the angel figure at the bottom better than the Columbus one on top. By now, though, you should have realized that I'm biased toward things with wings.
Since I've already covered D.C. a little bit, I'll skip over that for now and move an interesting piece in New Hampshire.

Daniel Webster Memorial, New Hampshire State House
This is a memorial for Daniel Webster, politician and orator, at the State House in Concord. Actually, this one is indoors in D.C., but there is a bronze outside the state house in New Hampshire. I liked this one because of the expression on this guy's face. The artist (Carl Conrads after Thomas Ball, who I think did the original) captured something so incredibly lifelike here. It looks like you caught him in a thinking moment, and it might take a couple tries to snap him out of it.

Ethan Allen in Burlington, Vermont
I recently came across this statue of Ethan Allen in Burlington, Vermont. I think it's another one of those where he looks like he's going to just keep walking, down the make-shift steps of the monument, and make a speech. Impressive.

Appeal to the Great Spirit, Boston
Ooh! Ooh! On to one of my favorite spots! BOSTON! (Can you tell I'm excited?)

Appeal to the Great Spirit by Cyrus Dallin is one of Dallin's most priceless and memorable statues he's ever done. It's graceful, it's a magnificent male figure (I don't know why, but there aren't a lot of those that happened after Michelangelo), and again it's one of those statues that might just start moving if you stare at it long enough. I like that, though he is obviously praying, that his head is leaned back and not bowed forward. Most of us, in trying situations, can do either, but it makes this statue stand out and connects with some of our most inner thoughts.

The Shaw memorial by August Saint-Gaudens
I'm pretty sure I did a piece on Saint-Gaudens a few years back, but I have to mention this one again. I want to go to Boston, and this is the main reason. This is the memorial to the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the all-black team of soldiers led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. After I saw Glory when I was seventeen, I never forgot it. And this of all things shows us terrified yet brave soldiers who went into a battle that they probably knew they weren't going to win. My favorite is the angel at the top (surprised?). She represents that angels might have been there, not just to save them but to lead them home. Tissue, anyone?

General William Tecumseh Sherman, Central Park
Okay, so I'm jumping around a bit, but why not end with New York? This is another statue by Saint-Gaudens of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who served in the Union Army during the civil war. Maybe I like Saint-Gaudens because he does incredible angels. All of his statues are quite good, and he is often spoken of as the greatest American sculptor in history.

Until next time, enjoy the sculptures lining your downtown streets.


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