Bust and relief sculpture: bronze; Stele: granite; Base and stepped platform: granite; Plaza: stone slabs possibly slate
Type:
Sculptures-Stele
Sculptures-Relief
Sculptures-Outdoor Sculpture
Sculptures
Owner/Location:
Administered by City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation The Arsenal - Central Park New York New York 10021
Located Cadman Plaza Fulton & Concord streets Brooklyn New York
Date:
Installed 1926
Notes:
Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985
The City of New York, Department of Parks, 1941.
Lederer, Joseph, "All Around the Town: A Walking Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in New York City," New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975, pg. 204.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, New York, New York survey, 1993.
Image on file.
Lederer, Joseph, "All Around the Town: A Walking Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in New York City," New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975, pg. 204.
A A WEINMAN FECIT (On bust:) AMERICA ART FOUNDRY N.Y. (On relief:) AMERICAN ART FOUNDRY N.Y. (On front of base just under bust:) WILLIAM JAY/GAYNOR/MAYOR OF/NEW YORK CITY/1910-1915 (On back of stele:) WILLIAM JAY GAYNOR/LAWYER EXECUTIVE/DEFENDER OF CIVIL LIBERTIES/BORN ORISKANY NY FEBRUARY 23 1851 DIED /SEPTEMBER 10 1913 JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME/COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 1894 TO/1909 MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY 1910 TO 1913/OURS IS A GOVERNMENT OF LAWS NOT OF MEN signed Founder's mark appears.
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary:
Bust of William Jay Gaynor on a granite base positioned in front of a stone stele. A bronze relief adorns the front of the stele just behind the bust. The stele and the bust are positioned on a two-stepped stone platform which is installed on a stone plaza. The relief behind the bust depicts a reclining, semi-nude male figure at one end and a reclining, semi-nude female figure at the other. The male figure sits with his head turned to his proper right and his arms resting on large books positioned vertically on either side of him. He wears a helmet and a beard. A winged female figure looks over his proper right shoulder. At the other end, the female figure sits with her head bend down toward her proper left. Her head rests on her proper left arm which is supported against her proper left leg. A similar winged female figure also looks over her shoulder. Leafy foliage across the top of therelief stretches between the two figures and behind the bust.
