Public Sculpture for New York: Italian Style

In New York, public sculpture is ubiquitous. Many are grandiose works of art that serve as an example of the significant influence and contribution of Italians to the building, shaping and enrichment of life in New York.

As a service to the Italian American community, the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute provides this list of some of the more significant public sculptures whose subjects or creators are famous Italians or Americans of Italian descent.

This list will be updated from time to time as more research is completed. You can contribute by forwarding your comments, suggestions and sightings to:

Geoffrey Claroni, Esq.,

Assistant Director for Community Programs

The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute

or via facsimile transmission at (212) 642-2030 or via telephone at (212) 642-2038

Create your own tour and enjoy these wonderful achievements and contributions to our society.

Buon divertimento !!

Manhattan - Downtown

Giovanni da Verrazzano

bronze statue, granite pedestal

(by Ettore Ximenes, 1909)

Battery Park, Manhattan

Pietro Cesare Alberti

land marker, pink stone

commemorating June 2 as “Alberti Day” in recognition of the first Italian settler who came to New York on June 2, 1635

near the statue of Giovanni da Verrazzano, Battery Park, Manhattan

La Vela di Colombo

monument

(by Gino Giannetti, 1998)

Liberty Sate Park

U.S. Custom House Cornice Sculptures – “Genoa,” “Greece and Rome” and “Venice and Spain”

limestone statues

State Street and Whitehall Street, Bowling Green, Manhattan

“The Four Continents” of the Custom House

statuary carved in marble

(by Daniel Chester French, carved in marble by the Piccirilli brothers)

State Street and Whitehall Street, Bowling Green, Manhattan

Charging Bull

bronze

(by Arturo DiModica, 1989)

Broadway at Whitehall Street, Bowling Green, Manhattan

Pediment Sculpture of the New York Stock Exchange

(by John Quincy Adams Ward and Paul Wayland Bartlett, carved in marble by the Piccirilli brothers)

Wall Street and Exchange Place, Manhattan

Policemen’s Memorial

(by the Piccirilli Brothers)

One New York Plaza, Manhattan

Giuseppe Garibaldi

bronze statue, granite pedestal

(by Giovanni Turini, 1888)

Washington Square Park, Manhattan

Sculpture on the Washington Square Memorial Arch

(designed by Stanford White, carved by the Piccirilli brothers)

Washington Square Park, Manhattan

Fiorello La Guardia

bronze portrait bust, pink granite pedestal

(by Jo Davidson, 1934)

La Guardia House, near Jefferson Street and Madison Street, Manhattan

Fiorello La Guardia

bronze statue

(by Neil Estern, 1994)

La Guardia Place and Bleecker Street, La Guardia Gardens, Manhattan

Murphy Memorial

monument

(by Anthony De Francici, 1926)

commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence

Union Square, Manhattan

Manhattan - Midtown

The Library Lions (“Patience and Fortitude”) of the New York Public Library

pink Tennessee marble

(by Edward Clark Potter, carved in marble by the Piccirilli brothers, 1911)

Fifth Avenue at 42^nd Street, Manhattan

Pediment Statuary of the New York Public Library

(by Paul Wayland Bartlett, carved by the Piccirilli brothers)

Fifth Avenue at 42^nd Street, Manhattan

The Joy of Life

(by Attilio Piccirilli, 1937)

15 West 48^th Street, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan

Palazzo d’Italia relief, “Eternal Youth”

bronze panel relief

(by Giacomo Manzú, 1965)

Fifth Avenue at 50^th Street, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan

Youth Leading Industry

bas-relief in glass

(by Attilio Piccirilli, 1935)

636 Fifth Avenue at 51^st Street, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan

St. Francis X. Cabrini, “Mother of the Immigrant”

appears on the bronze door of St. Patrick ‘s Cathedral

(by John Angel)

Fifth Avenue at 51st Street, Manhattan

Cristoforo Colombo

monument, marble statue, granite column, bronze relief and ornament, fountain

(by Gaetano Russo, 1892)

commemorating the 400^th anniversary of the discovery by Christopher Columbus

Columbus Circle, Broadway and 59^th Street, Manhattan

“Maine Memorial”

monument

(by Attilio Piccirilli, 1913)

Columbus Circle, Broadway and 59^th Street, Manhattan

Manhattan - Uptown

Dante Alighieri

bronze statue, granite base, bronze ornamental shield

(by Ettore Ximenes, 1921)

Dante Square, West 63^rd Street where Broadway intersects Columbus Avenue, Lincoln Center, Manhattan

Columbus

bronze statue, granite base

(by Jeronimo Sunol, 1894)

south entrance to the Central Park Mall at 65^th Street, Manhattan

Giuseppe Mazzini

bronze bust, granite base

(by Giovanni Turini, 1876)

West Drive in Central Park near 67^th Street, Manhattan

Mother Italy

(by Giuseppe Massari)

Poses Park, 68^th Street between Third Avenue and Lexington Avenue, Manhattan

Giuseppe Verdi

monument, statue of Carrara marble

(by Pasquale Civiletti, 1906)

Verdi Square, West 72^nd Street where Broadway intersects Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan

Pediments of Frick Reference Library

(by Attilio Piccirilli)

71^st Street at Fifth Avenue, Manhattan

Children’s Sculpture

(by Constantino Nivola, 1964)

Stephen Wise Towers, West 90^th Street, between Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan

Firemen’s Memorial

monument, bronze and pink marble

(by Attilio Piccirilli, 1913)

Riverside Drive at West 100^th Street, Manhattan

Classic Front Door of Riverside Church

(by Attilio Piccirilli)

Riverside Drive at 122^nd Street, Manhattan

Bronx

Christopher Columbus

marble portrait bust, granite pedestal

(by Attilio Piccirilli, 1925)

D’Auria Murphy Square, East 183^rd Street, Crescent Avenue and Adams Place, Bronx

Brooklyn

Colossal Female Figures at the Brooklyn Museum “Indian Law Giver” “Indian Literature”

granite

(by Daniel Chester French, carved by Attilio Piccirilli)

Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn

Pediment of the Brooklyn Museum

Indiana limestone

(by Daniel Chester French and Adolph Weinman, carved by Attilio Piccirilli, 1913)

Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn

Christopher Columbus

marble full-size statue

(by Emma Stebbins, 1867)

Columbus Park, Supreme Court Building, Brooklyn

Children’s Sculpture – Nivola Horses

(by Constantino Nivola, 1958)

P.S. 46 play yard, 100 Clermont Avenue, between Myrtle Avenue and Park Avenue, Brooklyn

Antonio Meucci Monument

Meucci Square, intersection of Avenue U and 86^th Street and West 12^th Street, Brooklyn

Queens

Christopher Columbus

bronze statue, cast stone base

(by A. Racioppi, ca. 1936)

Astoria Boulevard at 32^nd Street, Queens

Staten Island

Antonio Meucci Monument

portrait bust, bronze and granite

Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, 420 Tompkins Avenue, Staten Island

Children’s Sculpture

(by Constantino Nivola)

P.S. 55, Staten Island

Westchester County

Cristoforo Colombo

statue, Carrara marble

(by Peter Celli, 1915)

North Broadway at Lake Street, White Plains

Cristoforo Colombo

Halstead Avenue, Harrison

Christopher Columbus

Hudson Park, Hudson Park Road, New Rochelle

Christopher Columbus

Columbus Elementary School, 275 Washington Avenue, New Rochelle

Cristoforo Colombo

Ryan Avenue, Columbus Park, Port Chester

Christopher Columbus

Downing Park, Route 202 at Route 132, Yorktown Heights

Christopher Columbus

Mount Kisco Public Library, City Hall, Mount Kisco

Buon divertimento !

Further Reading: If you would like to know more about this subject, these books and references might be of interest:

“The Role of the Artist of Italian Heritage in the Shaping of America,” by Regina Soria, http://www.italians-world.org/altreitalie/15_saggi1a.htm .

American Artists of Italian Heritage, 1776-1945: A Biographical Dictionary, by Regina Soria.

Attilio Piccirilli: Life of an American Sculptor, by Josef Vincent Lombardi.

All Around the Town: A Walking Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in New York City, by Joseph Lederer.