Public art in Central Park

New York City's Central Park is the home of many works of public art in various media, such as bronze, stone, and tile. Many are sculptures in the form of busts, statues, equestrian statues, and panels carved or cast in low relief. Others are two-dimensional bronze or tile plaques. Some artworks do double-duty as fountains, or as part of fountains; some serve as memorials dedicated to a cause, to notable individuals, and in one case, to a notable animal. Most were donated by individuals or civic organizations; only a few were funded by the city.

Examples of public art in the park include memorials dedicated to notable individuals such as the poet William Shakespeare and the statesman Daniel Webster; depictions of archetypical characters such as The Pilgrim, Indian Hunter, and The Falconer; depictions of literary characters such as Alice in Wonderland; numerous depictions of imaginary animals, and at least one of a real one (the statue of Balto). The only artifact from the ancient world is the Egyptian obelisk known as "Cleopatra's Needle", the oldest and tallest artwork in the park.

Traditionally, depictions of real (as opposed to imaginary) humans were men, whereas depictions of women have been either mythological characters (angels or goddesses) or characters from literature. The installation in 2020 of the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument, depicting three female activists, was a first step in addressing this oversight.

In recent years, park administrators have provided a forum for temporary exhibitions of artwork at the Doris Freedman Plaza, just outside the park's southeast entrance.

List of public art in Central Park

Name Location / GPS Coordinates Date & Designers Notes107th Infantry Memorial (World War One)Fifth Ave., opp. 67th St.Commissioned in 1920; dedicated in 1927; Karl Illava, sculptor;Rogers & Haneman, architects;Fonderia G. Vignali, founder.A bronze sculpture atop a North Jay granite base, in honor of the 7th Regiment New York, 107th United States Infantry. IAS Number: 76003536Alice in WonderlandNorth side of Central Park's Conservatory Pond.Unveiled in 1959; Ferando Texidor, designer;José de Creeft, sculptor;Hideo Sasaki, landscape architect;cast by the Modern Art Foundry.A bronze sculpture atop a base of Chelmsford granite depicting characters from Lewis Carroll's 1865 classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Alice, seated on a giant mushroom, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse, and Mad Hatter. Donated by publisher George Delacorte in memory of his wife Margarita, the sculpture is embellished with quotations from her favorite poem, "Jabberwocky". IAS Number: 87870163Statue of Hans Christian AndersenWest side of Central Park's Conservatory Pond.Unveiled in 1956; Georg J. Lober, sculptor;cast by the Modern Art Foundry;Otto Frederick Langman, designer of bench.A bronze statue depicting the Danish fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen, seated on a Stony Creek granite bench, feeding a duck (his most notable work being The Ugly Duckling). Funded with contributions from Danish and American schoolchildren. IAS Number: |87870162Ballplayers House FriezeNorth side of Heckscher Ballfields.Completed in 1990;Buttrick White & Burtis, architects.Susanne Stephens. “Snack stand for Central Park Ball Field,” The New York Times, July 12, 1990, Section C, page 3. According to the article, the frieze was designed by William Braham, an architect at Buttrick White & Burtis, and fabricated by Brenda Bertin.An encaustic tile frieze wrapping the building, symbolizing a ball bouncing across a baseball field.Statue of BaltoBetween the East 67th St. park entrance and Central Park East Drive.Unveiled in 1925; Frederick G.R. Roth, sculptor;Roman Bronze Works.A bronze statue mounted on natural rock, portraying one of over 200 sled-dogs that delivered diphtheria serum through a blizzard to Nome, Alaska in January 1925. Balto attended the dedication of his statue (a rarity among Central Park statuary subjects) and died in 1933. IAS Number: 87870159Bust of Ludwig van BeethovenWest side of The Mall.Installed in 1884; Henry Baerer, sculptor;George Fischer & Brother Bronze Works.A bronze bust atop a polished Barre granite plinth created in memory of the German composer. IAS Number: 76003467Belvedere Castle CockatriceBelvedere Castle.Completed in 1869; Jacob Wrey Mould, designer of the cockatrice;Calvert Vaux, architect of the castle.A decorative bronze transom panel in the facade of the Belvedere Castle.Bethesda FountainBethesda Terrace.Unveiled in 1873; Emma Stebbins, sculptor of the angel & four cherubs;Royal Foundry (Munich, Germany);Jacob Wrey Mould, designer of architectural ornament;Calvert Vaux, architect.A bronze statue known as the Angel of the Waters atop a reeded bronze basin, supported by four cherubs atop a polychrome stone basin, which in turn sits in a 90 foot diameter basin. Emma Stebbins is said to have been the first woman to receive a public sculptural commission in New York City. IAS Number: 76002831Bethesda Terrace BalustradeBethesda Terrace and Terrace Drive.Jacob Wrey Mould, architectural sculpture and ornament;Calvert Vaux, architect.A variety of architectural sculpture and ornament carved in New Brunswick sandstone at the terrace balustrades and piers.Bethesda Terrace ArcadeBeneath Terrace Drive.Installed in 1869; Jacob Wrey Mould, designer of ornamental tiles;Calvert Vaux, architect of arcade;Mintons, tile fabricator.Forty-nine encaustic tile panels framed in cast iron, suspended from the roadway above. Each panel is made from 324 individual tiles.Equestrian statue of Simón BolívarBolívar Plaza,Central Park South, opp. Ave. of the Americas.Dedicated in 1921; Sally James Farnham, sculptor;Roman Bronze Works;relocated in 1951.A bronze equestrian statue atop a polished black granite plinth, originally sited between 82nd and 83rd Streets overlooking Central Park West. In 1951, after Sixth Avenue was renamed Avenue of the Americas, the sculpture was relocated adjacent fellow Latin American revolutionary leaders José de San Martín and José Martí. IAS Number: 76003468 Arthur Brisbane Memorial Fifth Ave. opp. 101st St.Installed in 1939; Richmond Barthé, sculptor;Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, architects.A bench with a relief portrait of journalist Arthur Brisbane (1864-1936), sculpted in Swenson's pink granite. IAS Number: 76003469Conservatory GardenBurnett Memorial FountainFifth Ave. opp. 105th St.Dedicated in 1937; Bessie Potter Vonnoh, sculptor;Aymar Embury II, architect;Roman Bronze Works.A bronze sculpture atop a pink granite plinth sitting in a small basin, created in memory of children's author Frances Hodgson Burnett. The work illustrates Mary and Dickon, characters from her book The Secret Garden (1910). IAS Number: 76003471 Statue of Robert BurnsLiterary Walk, south end of The Mall.Dedicated in 1880; Sir John Steell, sculptor.A bronze statue of Burns atop a pink granite base, created in memory of the Scots poet. IAS Number: 76003469Cherry Hill FountainCherry Hill, south of The Lake.Jacob Wrey Mould, architectural ornament; Calvert Vaux, architect.City Employees War MemorialWest side of The Mall.Installed in 1928; Georg J. Lober, sculptor;Otto Frederick Langman, architect.An iron flagstaff supported by a bronze mounting embellished with four medallions and four eagles, sitting atop a Deer Isle granite pedestal with inscriptions. The memorial is dedicated to city employees who are, or were, veterans of American wars. Lober and Langman collaborated on the statue of George M. Cohan, installed at Duffy Square in 1959. IAS Number: 76003476 Cleopatra's NeedleWest of the Metropolitan Museum.Erected by Thutmose III at the Temple of Tum at Heliopolis ca 1500–1600 B.C.;gifted to US in 1869;dedicated in Central Park in 1881.An ancient Egyptian obelisk, a gift of Egypt to the United States. ISA Number: 87870165Statue of Christopher ColumbusEast Drive, south of The MallJeronimo Suñol, sculptor;Napoleon LeBrun, architect;Federico Masriera, foundry in Barcelona.A bronze statue atop a Rockport granite plinth. Cast in Barcelona in 1892, the statue was donated to Central Park by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The statue replicates one made by Jeronimo Suñol in 1886, now in Madrid.Central Park's version of the sculpture is signed "J. SUÑOL"; it bears the foundry mark of Federico Masriera, Barcelona, 1892. The New York version was placed in the park in 1894 at the foot of the Mall. ISA Number: 87870160Conservatory Garden Central FountainFifth Ave. opp. 105th St.Installed in 1937 when the garden was created.A single column of water that collects in a circular basin. A display fountain. Dana Discovery Center Donor's PlaqueNorth shore of Harlem Meer.Dedicated in 1993; Buttrick White & Burtis, architects. Dana Discovery Center PlaqueNorth shore of Harlem Meer.Dedicated in 1993; Buttrick White & Burtis, architects."The Arts and Crafts in Architecture Today," Classicist No. 3 (1996–97): 90–96. According to the article, the plaque was designed by Michael Dwyer, an architect at Buttrick White & Burtis, and fabricated by Brenda Bertin.An encaustic tile panel depicting fish and fowl, the name of the building and the date of its construction. A chevron band symbolizes the water of Harlem Meer which the building overlooks. Dancing GoatCentral Park Zoo, north of the Sea Lion Pool.Installed in 1935; Frederick Roth, sculptor;cast by the Roman Bronze Works;relocated in 1988.A bronze statue on a granite platform, functioning as a fountain, set into an arched niche. IAS Number: 76003481 Decorative Zoological PanelsCentral Park Zoo.Installed ca 1934; Frederick Roth, sculptor.Fifteen limestone panels of animals carved in low relief. IAS Number: 76003538Delacorte ClockChildren's Zoo.Installed in 1964; Andrea Spadini, sculptor;Edward Coe Embury, architect;Fernando Texidor, designer.The monkeys atop the tower ring the bell on the hour. The lower 6 animals twirl and parade around the tower on the hour and half-hour. Two monkeys (ringing the bell) Penguin (with drum) Hippopotamus (with violin) Bear (with tambourine) Elephant (with concertina) Goat (with Pan pipes) Kangaroo (with horn) Baby Kangaroo (with small clarinet) IAS Number: 87870158Frederick Douglass MemorialFrederick Douglass Circle,Central Park North & Frederick Douglass Boulevard.Dedicated in 2011; Gabriel Koren, sculptor;Algernon Miller and Quennell Rothschild & Partners, plaza and fountain design;Polich-Tallix, foundry.A larger-than-life bronze statue on a bronze base on a granite platform, set in the middle of a memorial plaza dedicated to Douglass, a 19th-century abolitionist, activist, and author.Daniel Draper PlaqueBelvedere Castle.Installed in 1035; Anton Brandts Subiesky, sculptor.IAS Number:76003487 S. Rankin Drew Memorial Tree Marker72nd St., west of The Mall.Installed in 1928; unknown designer.Drew was a silent movie actor/director who died in World War I. The American Legion planted an oak tree in his memory in 1920, and installed the marker in 1928. IAS Number: 76003488Granite EaglesCentral Park Zoo.Installed on the First Avenue Bridge in 1912; Rochette and Parzini, sculptors.Relocated to Central Park in 1941.Eight statues salvaged from an overpass built in 1912 to span the Shore Parkway in Brooklyn, NY, but demolished in 1941. IAS Number: 76003491Eagles and PreyCenter Drive, opp. Lilac Walk.Cast in Paris in 1850;installed in Central Park in 1863; Christophe Fratin, sculptor; Gordon Webster Burnham, donor.A bronze sculpture on a Quincy granite pedestal depicting a goat captured by two eagles. Said to be the earliest sculpture installed in a New York City park.