An outdoor granite sculpture of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

Carl Conrads Carl H. Conrads (February 26, 1839 in Breisig, Germany – May 24, 1920 in Hartford, Connecticut) was an American sculptor best known for his work on Civil War monuments and his two works in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United ...

is installed in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York. Hamilton's son, John C. Hamilton, commissioned Conrads to sculpt this statue, which was dedicated on November 22, 1880, and donated to the city. Conrads used the bust of Hamilton created by the sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi as a model for Hamilton's head. American founding father

lived nearby in

, at

Hamilton Grange Hamilton Grange National Memorial (also known as Hamilton Grange or the Grange) is a historic house museum within St. Nicholas Park in the Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States ...

, when he died in 1804.

Description

Hamilton is dressed in Colonial style with a wig, ruffled collar, knickers, and buckle shoes. His right hand is on his chest, while his left hand is holding a rolled document, resting on a stone column. Thirteen stars encircle the top of the pedestal. A sword,

scabbard A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, dagger, knife, or similar edged weapons. Rifles and other long guns may also be stored in scabbards by horse riders for transportation. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring ...

and military hat are near the base of the pedestal. Conrads, working for New England Granite Works owned by James G. Batterson, used a block of Westerly granite since it was both beautiful and durable, able to withstand the highest pressures.

Dedication

The dedication, held on November 22, 1880, a cold and windy day, was attended by nearly 500 people. Hamilton's son, John C. Hamilton, made a brief speech to the crowd and guests, including members of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

. Hamilton described the statue: The Mayor, Edward Cooper, then made a brief address praising Alexander and thanking John C. for his donation. Since the weather was so bad, the outdoor ceremony was moved inside the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

where later speakers included Alexander Hamilton Bullock and Chauncey M. Depew. Depew's speech covered Hamilton as a soldier, financier and statesman.

Inscription

On the base of the pedestal: On the left side:

Legacy

While Ceracchi, born on July 4, 1751, created busts for several founding fathers, his life did not end well. After returning to Europe, he first celebrated

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

with a bust, but then turned against him. After an unsuccessful plot, Napoleon had him

guillotined A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with a pil ...

at the

Place de Grève Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Of ...

on January 30, 1801.

References

External links

* {{Public art in Manhattan Sculptures by Carl Conrads 1880 sculptures Sculptures in Central Park Statues of Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Monuments and memorials in Manhattan

Sculptures of men in New York City Statues in New York City