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Sculpture group in Manhattan, New York, U.S. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Tecumseh Sherman, also known as the Sherman Memorial or Sherman Monument,[1][2] is a sculpture group honoring William Tecumseh Sherman, created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and located at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, New York. Cast in 1902 and dedicated on May 30, 1903, the gilded-bronze monument consists of an equestrian statue of Sherman and an accompanying statue, Victory, an allegorical female figure of the Greek goddess Nike.[3] The statues are set on a Stony Creek granite pedestal designed by the architect Charles Follen McKim.[4]
William Tecumseh Sherman Victory | |
---|---|
Artist | Augustus Saint-Gaudens |
Year | 1902 |
Type | Sculpture |
Medium | Bronze |
Subject | William Tecumseh Sherman |
Location | New York City, New York, U.S. |
40.7645°N 73.9732°W |
The idea for the statue dates back to as early as 1888. The architect Charles Follen McKim and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens decided in 1902 to install an equestrian statue of U.S. Army general William Tecumseh Sherman in Central Park.[4] Several sites had been considered, including Sherman Square on the Upper West Side; the median of Riverside Drive just south of Grant's Tomb; another site on Riverside Drive; and Grand Army Plaza.[5] The Central Park Mall was also considered but ruled out.[6] The statue was dedicated in the northern half of Grand Army Plaza on May 30, 1903.[7]
The plaza was re-landscaped in the 1910s after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer died in 1911, bequeathing $50,000 for the creation of a memorial fountain.[8] As part of the fountain's construction, the Sherman Monument remained in the northern half, but moved 15 feet (4.6 m) west to be symmetrically opposite the fountain.[9]
On July 23, 1974, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Grand Army Plaza, including the Sherman Monument, as a New York City scenic landmark.[10] On March 26, 1985, the Central Park Conservancy and the architecture firm of Buttrick White & Burtis presented plans to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a full restoration of the plaza, including the Sherman Monument.[11] The work was completed in June 1990, including a re-gilding of the statue, and the replacement of a palm frond and a sword that had been removed previously.[12] Grand Army Plaza was renewed again in 2013, including a re-gilding of the statue of William Tecumseh Sherman.[13]
According to the report prepared by the Landmarks Commission for its 1974 designation, many consider the Sherman Monument to be Saint-Gaudens’ finest work. Not everyone agreed; according to Frank Weitenkampf,[14] sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward was less than enthusiastic about the equestrian composition: "Saint-Gaudens was a timid rider and it showed in this work.... if the horse should stumble the general would inevitably be thrown over his head."
The obverse of Saint-Gaudens' 1907 United States Saint-Gaudens double eagle coin, portraying Liberty,[15] is based on his sculpture of Victory.
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