Sunday, February 4, 2007

Alexander Hamilton (Central Park): OMOM Essay 43

In “About the Sculpture” I consider why Manhattan has four sculptures of Hamilton (d. 1804) - more than of any other person, including George Washington - and how the fact that this one is of granite rather than the usual bronze or marble affects what the artist could do and how we perceive it.

“About the Subject” in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan compares Hamilton’s and Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas of “big government.” Times do change.

A couple years ago I gave a walking tour of the Hamilton sculptures, of which you can read the opening pages online. Click here for information on purchasing a copy of the whole essay in PDF format.

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