Collections record Beta

Collection Record Detail

Object Name

Print - "The Destruction of the Royal Statue in New York"

Object Number

1995-06-3

Description

French engraving with hand coloring, entitled at the top, "La Destruction de la Statue Royale a Nouvelle Yorck." Image of a city square with European style architecture. In the center is a tall pediment with a statue of a standing male in the style of a Roman emperor, holding a scepter in his left hand. The statue is being pulled down using ropes, ladders, and pickaxes by a group of men, predominantly enslaved or free Africans (depicted in short pants and turbans) and a small number of white men. Onlookers are gathering to the right of the statue and in nearby windows and balconies. Groups of soldiers can be seen in the distance to the left of the statue. The title is repeated below the print in both German ("Die Zerstorung der Koniglichen Bild Saule zu New Yorck") and French. In smaller text at bottom, "A Paris chez J. Chereau rue St. Jacques au dessus de la Fontaine St. Severin no. 257."

Comment

This French print depicts an artist's interpretation of the events of July 9, 1776, when civilians and soldiers in New York pulled down an equestrian statue of King George III in Bowling Green. The scene has a number of clear inaccuracies, including the depiction of the statue (the real statue was modeled after an equestrian statue of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius), the environs and architecture, and the participants.