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Coordinates: 40°46′50″N 73°59′09″W / 40.78065°N 73.98579°W / 40.78065; -73.98579
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{{Short description|Sculpture in Manhattan, New York, U.S.}}
{{Short description|Sculpture in Manhattan, New York, U.S.}}
[[File:Eleanor Roosevelt Monument - 2017-12-02 - Statue view from North.jpg|thumb|The bronze statue, granite boulder and footstone, sculpted by [[Penelope Jencks]]]]
⚫
The '''Eleanor Roosevelt Monument''' is a memorial located in [[New York City]]'s [[Riverside Park (Manhattan)|Riverside Park]], whose centerpiece is a statue of [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], said to be the first monument dedicated to an American president's wife.<ref name="nyt-1996-10-05"/> [[Hillary Clinton]] (First Lady at the time) gave the keynote address at the monument's October 1996 dedication.<ref name="nyt-1996-10-05">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=October 5, 1996 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/05/nyregion/eleanor-roosevelt-honored-in-hometown-today.html |title=Eleanor Roosevelt Honored in Hometown Today |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-03-13}}</ref>
The '''Eleanor Roosevelt Monument''' is located at the southeast corner of [[New York City]]'s [[Riverside Park (Manhattan)|Riverside Park]]. It was the first work of public art in New York City to be dedicated to an American woman and, according to the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument Fund, which provided much of the funding for the project, it was the first work of public art to be dedicated to an American president's wife. The
⚫
centerpiece of the monument is a bronze statue of [[Eleanor Roosevelt]]. [[Hillary Clinton]] (the [[first lady]] at the time) gave the keynote address at the monument's dedication on October 5, 1996.<ref name="nyt-1996-10-05">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=October 5, 1996 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/05/nyregion/eleanor-roosevelt-honored-in-hometown-today.html |title=Eleanor Roosevelt Honored in Hometown Today |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-03-13}}</ref>


==Design==
==Design==
The landscape architects [[Bruce Kelly (landscape architect)|Bruce Kelly and David Varnell]] designed the planted, circular monument, and [[Penelope Jencks]] sculpted the statue, boulder, and foot stone. The architect [[Michael Middleton Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]] designed inscriptions in the surrounding granite pavement (including a quotation from a 1958 speech of Roosevelt's, and one from [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]]'s 1962 eulogy for her), and a bronze tablet located in the planting bed summarizing her many achievements.<ref>Jean Parker Phifer, ''Public Art New York'' (New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009).</ref>
The landscape architects [[Bruce Kelly (landscape architect)|Bruce Kelly and David Varnell]] designed a circular, elevated bed planted with oak trees as a setting for a bronze statue of Roosevelt leaning against a granite boulder, both sculpted by [[Penelope Jencks]]. The architect [[Michael Middleton Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]] designed two granite medallions, set into the surrounding bluestone paving (one inscribed with a quotation from a 1958 speech of Roosevelt's; the other with a quotation from [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]]'s 1962 eulogy for her), and a bronze plaque, located in the tree bed, summarizing her many achievements.<ref>Jean Parker Phifer, ''Public Art New York'' (New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009).</ref>

Jencks, who was chosen by a nationwide competition, took four years to complete the work. Douglas Martin, reporting for ''The New York Times'' in 1995, wrote that she took so long because she "was determined to do everything just so." According to Martin,
<blockquote>
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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Douglas |title=Eleanor Roosevelt Honored in Hometown Today |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/05/nyregion/eleanor-roosevelt-honored-in-hometown-today.html |access-date=September 22, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=October 5, 1996}}</ref>
</blockquote>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery widths="175px" heights="175px">
<gallery widths="175px" heights="175px">
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Monument.JPG|The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument designed by [[Bruce Kelly (Landscape Architect)|Bruce Kelly & David Varnell]].
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Monument.JPG|The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument designed by landscape architects [[Bruce Kelly (Landscape Architect)|Bruce Kelly & David Varnell]].
File:Riverside Drive at 72nd Street.jpg|The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the south.
File:Riverside Drive at 72nd Street.jpg|The bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the south.
File:Elroos72st.JPG|The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northeast.
File:Elroos72st.JPG|The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northeast.
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Statue.jpg|The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northwest.
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Statue.jpg|The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northwest.
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Monument - 2017-12-02 - Statue view from North.jpg|The statue, boulder, and footstone, sculpted by [[Penelope Jencks]].
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Monument - 2017-12-02 - Adlai Stevenson Quote.jpg|Granite medallion inscribed with [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adali Stevenson]]'s quote, designed by [[Michael Middleton Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]].
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Monument - 2017-12-02 - Adlai Stevenson Quote.jpg|Inscription of Adlai Stevenson Quote, designed by [[Michael Middleton Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]].
File:MMDA-Photos - 2017-08-13 - Biographical Plaque, Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial, Riverside Park, New York City.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt Biographical Plaque, designed by [[Michael Middleton Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]].
File:Eleanor Roosevelt Monument Biographical Plaque.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt Biographical Plaque, designed by [[Michael Middleton Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]].
</gallery>
</gallery>


==References==
==References==
{{Commons category|Eleanor Roosevelt Monument (Riverside Park, Manhattan)}}
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


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[[Category:Upper West Side]]
[[Category:Upper West Side]]
[[Category:Riverside Park (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Riverside Park (Manhattan)]]
[[Category: Michael Middleton Dwyer]]
[[Category:Statues of women in the United States]]


{{NewYork-sculpture-stub}}

Latest revision as of 03:40, 16 August 2024

The bronze statue, granite boulder and footstone, sculpted by Penelope Jencks

The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument is located at the southeast corner of New York City's Riverside Park. It was the first work of public art in New York City to be dedicated to an American woman and, according to the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument Fund, which provided much of the funding for the project, it was the first work of public art to be dedicated to an American president's wife. The centerpiece of the monument is a bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt. Hillary Clinton (the first lady at the time) gave the keynote address at the monument's dedication on October 5, 1996.[1]

Design

[edit]

The landscape architects Bruce Kelly and David Varnell designed a circular, elevated bed planted with oak trees as a setting for a bronze statue of Roosevelt leaning against a granite boulder, both sculpted by Penelope Jencks. The architect Michael Dwyer designed two granite medallions, set into the surrounding bluestone paving (one inscribed with a quotation from a 1958 speech of Roosevelt's; the other with a quotation from Adlai Stevenson's 1962 eulogy for her), and a bronze plaque, located in the tree bed, summarizing her many achievements.[2]

Jencks, who was chosen by a nationwide competition, took four years to complete the work. Douglas Martin, reporting for The New York Times in 1995, wrote that she took so long because she "was determined to do everything just so." According to Martin,

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.[3]

[edit]
  • The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument designed by landscape architects Bruce Kelly & David Varnell.
    The Eleanor Roosevelt Monument designed by landscape architects Bruce Kelly & David Varnell.
  • The bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the south.
    The bronze 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 northeast.
  • The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northwest.
    The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt seen from the northwest.
  • Granite medallion inscribed with Adali Stevenson's quote, designed by Michael Dwyer.
    Granite medallion inscribed with Adali Stevenson's quote, designed by Michael Dwyer.
  • Eleanor Roosevelt Biographical Plaque, designed by Michael Dwyer.
    Eleanor Roosevelt Biographical Plaque, designed by Michael Dwyer.

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eleanor Roosevelt Monument (Riverside Park, Manhattan).
  1. ^ Martin, Douglas (October 5, 1996). "Eleanor Roosevelt Honored in Hometown Today". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  2. ^ Jean Parker Phifer, Public Art New York (New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009).
  3. ^ Martin, Douglas (October 5, 1996). "Eleanor Roosevelt Honored in Hometown Today". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2023.

40°46′50″N 73°59′09″W / 40.78065°N 73.98579°W / 40.78065; -73.98579

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