Behold the Alexander Hamilton Statue. This monument stands between the East Drive and the Great Lawn. It honors the American politician Alexander Hamilton.
The statue was a gift to Central Park in 1880. John C. Hamilton, one of Hamilton’s sons, donated it. He hired Carl H. Conrads, a German-American artist, for the job. Conrads based his design on a 1778 bust. The Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi created that original bust of Hamilton. The Alexander Hamilton Statue is made entirely of carved granite.
Let’s delve into the details of this statue. Hamilton is dressed in Colonial style. He sports a wig a ruffled collar knickers and buckled shoes. One hand is gripping a roll of documents. The other rests in the opening of his vest.
Now consider the pedestal. Thirteen stars encircle its top. A sword a scabbard and a military hat lie near its base. Conrads chose Westerly granite for its beauty and durability. James G. Batterson owned New England Granite Works where Conrads worked.
The statue’s dedication on November 22 1880 drew nearly 500 people. Despite the cold and wind, the event proceeded. John C. Hamilton spoke briefly to the crowd. Members of the Society of the Cincinnati were present.
Hamilton described the statue’s placement. He noted its position on a granite base facing the rising sun. Mayor Edward Cooper also gave a short speech. He praised Alexander Hamilton. He thanked John C. for the donation. Due to the weather, the ceremony moved inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alexander Hamilton Bullock and Chauncey M. Depew spoke there. Depew discussed Hamilton’s roles as a soldier financier and statesman.
The base of the Alexander Hamilton Statue bears an inscription. It reads simply PRESENTED BY. The left side shows C. Conrads.
Alexander Hamilton’s story is compelling. He was a co-author of the Federalist Papers. He served as the first Secretary of the Treasury. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Hamilton was also a notable New Yorker. As a teen he traveled to the city seeking education. He lived for a long time in Hamilton Heights. He built a country estate in Harlem called the Grange. The Grange still exists today. After his death in an 1804 duel with Aaron Burr Hamilton was buried in Lower Manhattan’s Trinity Church cemetery.
Although well-known in the 19th century Hamilton wasn’t as famous as he is now. Only about 500 people attended the statue’s dedication in 1880. In contrast over 2000 attended Daniel Webster’s monument dedication in 1876. The musical Hamilton: An American Musical which debuted in 2015 brought Hamilton new fame. The Alexander Hamilton Statue and other sites related to Hamilton became popular destinations.
It’s worth noting that Hamilton has four monuments in Manhattan. This is rare for public figures. Orator Chauncey M. Depew spoke at the dedication. He emphasized Hamilton’s reputation and service.
Conrads’s Alexander Hamilton Statue was Manhattan’s first outdoor Hamilton sculpture. But it wasn’t the first in the city. A fifteen-foot Hamilton once stood in the Merchant’s Exchange. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1835. Besides this statue there’s the 1892 statue at Hamilton Grange a 1908 statue at Columbia University and a statue on the Museum of the City of New York’s façade.
Examine the granite face of Conrads’s Alexander Hamilton Statue. Compare it to the bronze face of the Grange Hamilton. The medium and color create different effects. The granite’s flecked color makes details harder to see. Granite’s hardness makes it hard to show nuances.
The statue shows Hamilton as an eighteenth-century gentleman about to speak. It doesn’t highlight particular emotions. The Alexander Hamilton Statue at Hamilton Grange shows Hamilton bursting with energy.
Hamilton was an intelligent politician businessman lawyer and orator. Theodore Roosevelt called him the most brilliant American statesman. Hamilton’s policies as Treasury Secretary greatly affected American government. He set the new United States government on its financial feet. He promoted business to boost prosperity for all Americans.