Description
Book SynopsisLooks at figures and events that changed New York, the United States and the world. This handbook provides a compact method for studying sculpture, inspired by Ayn Rand's writings on art. It is useful for residents and tourists, and historians and students, who want to spend more time viewing and appreciating sculpture and New York history.
Trade Review"Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan is a primer on getting to know our citys monuments. . . . Each entry has a uniform structure. It contains a photo, vital stats (year dedicated, size, materials), an & About the Sculpture section, and an & About the Subject section, as well as a carefully chosen boxed quotation culled from an old book or newspaper that pertains to the subject. . . . Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan is well written, well researched, well-thought-out, funny, and often refreshingly original, and will help any interested New Yorker know about the wondrous monuments that dot the city." * New York Sun *
"[Durante] tackles her task in the manner of a walking tour. . . . The language of the book is friendly and chatty, as if the author were in front of you, conducting an on-site lecture. . . . The purpose of the book is to encourage people to go and see the wealth of outdoor sculpture in Manhattan, and the book treats this purpose with the enthusiasm the subjects deserve." * The Art Book *
"Anyone whose curiosity has ever been piqued by the peculiar mixture of historical statues that ornament the grounds of Central Park will find Outdoor Monuments by Dianne Durante a satisfying read. . . . The entries provide background on each works origin, explaining, for example, how a statue of the medieval Polish king Jagiello came to be in New York alongside more predictable allegorical and American patriotic figures. A brief history of the subject is also provided, including enough lively anecdotes and obscure facts to entice all readers." * Sculpture Magazine *
"[Durantes] guidebook is a perfect walking-tour accompaniment to help New Yorkers and visitors find, identify and better appreciate statues famous and obscure (honoring, among others, the ‘father of gynecology and the general who had an unremarkable military and business career but composed & Taps, the bugle call). . . . Durante winsomely places 54 monuments in historical and artistic perspective. We learn that a trumpet is an allegory for announcing fame, that the monument to Admiral Farragut in Madison Square Park altered the course of American sculpture, that the figure with the winged hat atop Grand Central Terminal is Mercury and that the statue of Atlas at Rockefeller Center was reviled when it was unveiled in 1937 because it supposedly resembled Mussolini. Lets hope Ms. Durante follows up in the other four boroughs." * The New York Times *
Table of ContentsMap of Manhattan Introduction South of Canal Canal to Union Square North 17th Street to Central Park South Central Park South to 110th Street110th Street and North Afterword Appendix A: How to Read a Sculpture 1 Questions for Looking at Sculpture 2 Identifying the Theme of Joan of Arc (#44) 3 Evaluating the Cid (#54) 4 Questions Regarding the Theme and Evaluation of Butterfield (#52) Appendix B: Statues in Chronological Order by Date of Dedication Appendix C: Brief Biographies of Artists Permissions About the Author Index
