Central Park’s Early Statues

Do statues “belong” in historically important landscapes like Central Park? Did Vaux and Olmsted expect statues in the park?

NYC public art and monuments expert Michele Bogart says “Yes!” To prove it, she takes us inside the social and financial networks of the late 19th century to meet some of the players of the day—August Belmont, Christian Edward Detmold, William Cullen Bryant—and learn why they were early proponents of statues in Central Park and just how they ended up shaping the greenspace that so defines the image of our city.