The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument is a memorial located in New York City's Riverside Park, whose centerpiece is a statue of Eleanor Roosevelt, said to be the first monument dedicated to an American president's wife.[1] Hillary Clinton (First Lady at the time) gave the keynote address at the monument's October 1996 dedication.[1]
Design
The landscape architects Bruce Kelly and David Varnell designed the circular tree bed, and Penelope Jencks sculpted the statue, boulder, and foot stone. Jencks, who was chosen by a nationwide competition, took four years to complete the work, according to Douglas Martin, writing in The New York Times, because she "was determined to do everything just so." Martin continued,
The first step was finding the rock for Mrs. Roosevelt to lean on, a key feature of Ms. Jencks's award-winning design. That took months before she realized she would have to create the shape of the rock herself. Then, she fought to get the proportions of the body right, doing copious geometrical calculations. Solutions came more easily when she found the perfect model, at least for the upper body. (Other models were used for other parts.) It was Phoebe Roosevelt, Mrs. Roosevelt's great-granddaughter, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, an inch shorter than Mrs. Roosevelt.[2]
The architect Michael Dwyer designed two inscribed granite medallions set into the surrounding bluestone paving (one with a quotation from a 1958 speech of Roosevelt's, and another with a quotation from Adlai Stevenson's 1962 eulogy for her), and a bronze tablet located in the planting bed summarizing her many achievements.[3]
Gallery
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The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument designed by Bruce Kelly & David Varnell. -
The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the south. -
The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northeast. -
The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northwest. -
The statue, boulder, and footstone, sculpted by Penelope Jencks. -
Inscription of Adlai Stevenson Quote, designed by Michael Dwyer. -
Eleanor Roosevelt Biographical Plaque, designed by Michael Dwyer.
References
- ^ a b Martin, Douglas (October 5, 1996). "Eleanor Roosevelt Honored in Hometown Today". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (October 5, 1996). "Eleanor Roosevelt Honored in Hometown Today". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ Jean Parker Phifer, Public Art New York (New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009).
40°46′50″N 73°59′09″W / 40.78065°N 73.98579°W
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