Surrogate Court Roof and Facade Sculptures

Sculpture

Artist

Henry Kirke Bush-Brown

Philip Martiny

Date

Installed, 1908

Description Show more

Material : Granite

Notable sculptors, Philip Martiny and Henry Kirk Bush-Brown, created the 54 sculptures on the facade which gives it the distinction of having the most sculptures adorning it than any other in the city.

On the ground floor there are two allegorical sculptures: New York in its Infancy and New York in Revolutionary Times flanking the entrance. Philip Martiny completed the cornice sculptures which are of 8 men who played a significant role in the City's early history including Dewitt Clinton (3rd from left) and Peter Stuyvesant (3rd from right).

Henry Kirk Bush-Brown contributed the roof sculptures. These figures represent the seasons, maternity, and subjects such as Philosophy and Law.

Tours

The Commons - The Heart of New York City

Map View

31 Chambers Street Park Row, New York City, NY, US 10007
on top of building

Nearby

Surrogate Court Lobby Mosaic	17 feet
Municipal Archives of the City of New York	32 feet
New York in Infancy and New York in Revolution	39 feet
Four Seasons	59 feet
Surrogate's Court - Hall of Records	72 feet
New York County Surrogates Court (Staircase)	140 feet
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) founded	183 feet
The Rotunda, City Hall Park	238 feet
New Gaol, turned Debtor's Prison, turned Provost Prison, turned Hall of Records	262 feet

#Public Art #Artwork #Sculpture #Summer Streets 2016

Timeline

1908

Current Photos

8 Results, Show less

This is a front view showing all of the sculptures on the South Facade.

The cornice on the 5th floor has 36ft high sculptures of eight men who played a significant role in the New York's early history. David Pietersen De Vries Dutch mariner, merchant and patroon who established colonies on Staten Island (1639) at at Tappan (1640). Caleb Heathcote, mayor of New York 1711-1714. De Witt Clinton, who was serving as mayor (and later governor) of New York City between 1803 and 1828. He was the driving force behind the Erie Canal. Abram Stevens Hewitt, mayor of New York 1887-1888, industrialist, active in the campaign against “Boss” Tweed in the 1870s. Philip Hone, mayor of New York 1825-1826. Peter Stuyvesant, last director-general of New Netherlands 1647-1664. Cadwallader David Colden, mayor of New York 1818-1821, district attorney, militia leader in the War of 1812, member of the State senate. James Duane, first mayor of New York 1784-1789, appointed after the British evacuation in 1783.

The roofline has sculptures depicting the seasons, phases of life, and Poetry and Philosophy. Maternity (woman holding a child) and Heritage (man instructing a squirming child), on either side of a triple window just above Hewitt and Hone. Spring, Summer, Winter, Autumn, caryatids flanking the round attic window Philosophy, a semi-reclining, older, bearded male figure on the far left of the round window, Poetry, a semi-reclining, younger male figure on the far right of the round window, with scrolls on his lap, holding a profile portrait head. Childhood, two children flanking an empty cartouche above the round window

This is a front view showing all of the sculptures on the South Facade.

1908 - Installed

View of the roof and cornice sculptures

Exterior view from the Municipal Building

View of the roof and cornice sculptures

Exterior view from the Municipal Building