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Jane Greengold

Artist
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Greengold was commissioned by 1995 MTA Art for Transit Program to do a permanent installment in the Grand Army Plaza subway station. The work, Wings for the IRT: The Irresistible Romance of Travel, is based on the winged women in the quadriga on the Soldiers and Sailor's Memorial Arch above the station. Greengold took the imagery from that dominant architectural structure, but added a humorous reference to the subway station context. On the arch, the winged women are leading in a chariot bearing Columbia, the symbol of victory of the North in the Civil War. But in the subway, Greengold feels that people most want to celebrate the arrival of the train. Greengold's research revealed that the original logo of the IRT was a winged train, so she incorporated facets of the IRT logo. Multi-layered referencing is typical of Greengold's work.