Jump to content

Henry Ward Beecher Monument

Coordinates: 40°41′41.5″N 73°59′24.4″W / 40.694861°N 73.990111°W / 40.694861; -73.990111
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Another Believer (talk | contribs) at 02:45, 2 March 2020 (Commons). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Statue of Henry Ward Beecher
Year1890 (1890)
Medium
  • Bronze
  • granite
SubjectHenry Ward Beecher
LocationNew York City, New York, U.S.

The Henry Ward Beecher Monument, a statue of Henry Ward Beecher created by the sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward, was unveiled on June 24, 1891 in Borough Hall Park, Brooklyn and was later relocated to Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn in 1959.

Background

Henry Ward Beecher was a 19th-century liberal theologian, preacher, and orator. After making a death mask of Beecher, Ward was contracted to execute the Beecher monument on April 6, 1888 for by the Beecher Statue Fund to "design, model, execute and complete in fine bronze a statue...eight feet in height."[1] To create the monument, Ward worked from the death mask in addition to photographs.

The figures of the children below the base of the monument symbolize the role Beecher played in the abolitionist movement and his devotion to children. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog by Lewis I. Sharp,[2] the statue was widely acclaimed as one of the finest public monuments in the country. There was criticism from Beecher's family and friends regarding the accuracy of the subject's likeness.[2]

Description

The monument features a bronze figural group by John Quincy Adams and Barre granite base designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt. The statues depict Beecher, a standing female figure, and two child figures (one boy and one African-American girl). The monument was cast on May 10, 1890, and dedicated on June 24, 1891. It was conserved via the Adopt-a-Monument Program in 1987.[3]

See also


40°41′41.5″N 73°59′24.4″W / 40.694861°N 73.990111°W / 40.694861; -73.990111

References

  1. ^ "Box 1". J.Q.A. Ward Papers. The New York Historical Society.
  2. ^ a b Sharp, Lewis I. (June 18, 1974). New York City Public Sculpture: by 19th-Century Artists. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 68. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ "Columbus Park: Henry Ward Beecher Monument". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved February 23, 2020.