Four Continents (French)

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Four Continents
Statues in front of the Custom House (40480).jpg
Statues outside the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
Four Continents (French)
Artist Daniel Chester French and Adolph Alexander Weinman
Medium Marble sculpture
Location New York City, New York, U.S.
Coordinates 40°42′15″N74°0′49″W / 40.70417°N 74.01361°W / 40.70417; -74.01361

Four Continents is the collective name of four sculptures by Daniel Chester French, installed outside the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green in Manhattan, New York City. [1] French performed the commissions with associate Adolph A. Weinman. [2]

Contents

Description and history

The work was made of marble [3] and sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers, [4] [5] with each sculptural group costing $13,500 (equivalent to $470,000in 2024). [4] The sculptures were first shown to the public in 1905. [3] From east to west, the statues depict larger-than-life-size personifications of Asia, America, Europe, and Africa. [6] [3] The primary figures are female, but there are also auxiliary human figures flanking each primary figure. In addition, Asia's figure is paired with a tiger, and Africa's figure is paired with a lion. [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Keyes, Allison (March 5, 2018). "Two Museum Directors Say It's Time to Tell the Unvarnished History of the U.S." Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  2. ↑ "United States Custom House" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 14, 1965. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2019; van Alfen, Peter. "Monuments, Medals, and Metropolis, part I: Beaux Arts Architecture". Archived from the original on January 12, 2014; Harris, J. (2002). The New Art History: A Critical Introduction. Taylor & Francis. p. 269. ISBN   978-1-134-58250-1 . Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "For Four Marble Groups; Symbols of Continents for the Custom House by D.C. French Shown". The New York Times. April 30, 1905. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "United States Custom House Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 9, 1979. p. 4. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Custom House Statues". New-York Tribune. November 13, 1905. p. 9. Retrieved March 24, 2020– via newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg ; Gray, Christopher (October 17, 1999). "Streetscapes/The Piccirillis; Six Brothers Who Left Their Mark as Sculptors". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  6. ↑ White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p.  13. ISBN   978-0-19538-386-7.


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