Four Continents (French)

Series of sculptures by Daniel Chester French in Manhattan, New York, U.S.

Four Continents
Statues outside the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
Map
Artist	Daniel Chester French and Adolph Alexander Weinman
Medium	Marble sculpture
Location	New York City, New York, U.S.
Coordinates	40°42′15′′N 74°0′49′′W / 40.70417°N 74.01361°W / 40.70417; -74.01361

Four Continents is the collective name of four sculptures by Daniel Chester French, installed outside the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green in Manhattan, New York City.^[1] French performed the commissions with associate Adolph A. Weinman.^[2]

Description and history

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The work was made of marble^[3] and sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers,^[4]^[5] with each sculptural group costing 13,500ドル (equivalent to 470,000ドル in 2024).^[4] The sculptures were first shown to the public in 1905.^[3] From east to west, the statues depict larger-than-life-size personifications of Asia, America, Europe, and Africa.^[6]^[3] The primary figures are female, but there are also auxiliary human figures flanking each primary figure. In addition, Asia's figure is paired with a tiger, and Africa's figure is paired with a lion.^[3]

Gallery

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Asia

Asia
America

America
Europe

Europe
Africa

Africa

References

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^ Keyes, Allison (March 5, 2018). "Two Museum Directors Say It's Time to Tell the Unvarnished History of the U.S." Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ "United States Custom House" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 14, 1965. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2019; van Alfen, Peter. "Monuments, Medals, and Metropolis, part I: Beaux Arts Architecture". Archived from the original on January 12, 2014; Harris, J. (2002). The New Art History: A Critical Introduction. Taylor & Francis. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-134-58250-1 . Retrieved April 14, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "For Four Marble Groups; Symbols of Continents for the Custom House by D.C. French Shown". The New York Times. April 30, 1905. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 16, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "United States Custom House Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 9, 1979. p. 4. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
^ "Custom House Statues". New-York Tribune. November 13, 1905. p. 9. Retrieved March 24, 2020 – via newspapers.com Open access icon ; Gray, Christopher (October 17, 1999). "Streetscapes/The Piccirillis; Six Brothers Who Left Their Mark as Sculptors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
^ White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.

External links

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Media related to Four Continents at the U.S. Custom House at Wikimedia Commons
The Four Continents at Waymarking: Africa, America, Asia, Europe

v t e Daniel Chester French
Sculptures (public)	The Minute Man (1874) John Harvard (1884) Memory (1886–1887) Thomas Gallaudet Memorial (1889) Lewis Cass (1889) Death and the Sculptor (1889) Thomas Starr King (1892) John Boyle O'Reilly Memorial (1896) T. A. Chapman Memorial (1896–1897) Richard Morris Hunt Memorial (1898) Rufus Choate (1898) Ulysses S. Grant (1899) George H. Perkins (1902) Joseph Hooker (1903) Alma Mater (1903–1904) Colonel James Anderson Monument (1904) William Francis Bartlett (1904) Four Continents (1905–1907) Charles Devens (1906) Progress of the State (1906) James Oglethorpe Monument (1907–1910) George Frisbie Hoar (1908) Russell Alger Memorial Fountain (1913–1921) Samuel Spencer (1910) Statue of Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln, Nebraska; 1912) Butt–Millet Memorial Fountain (1913) Wisconsin (1913–1914) The Spirit of Life (1914) Wendell Phillips (1914) Lafayette Memorial (1917) The Republic (1918; replica of 1893 statue) Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial (1918) Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln Memorial; 1920) Dupont Circle Fountain (1921) Marquis de Lafayette (1921) Alfred Tredway White Memorial (1923) Victory statue, First Division Monument (1924) George Robert White Memorial (1924) Washington Irving Memorial (1925–1926) Westinghouse Memorial (1926–1930) William Henry Seward Memorial (1930) Beneficence (1930) Equestrian statue of George Washington
Medals	Pulitzer Prize (1917)
Museums	Chesterwood
Related	Henry Flagg French (father) William M.R. French (brother) William M. Richardson (grandfather) Audrey Munson (model) Berkshire Playhouse National Sculpture Society Minute Man National Historical Park Lexington–Concord Sesquicentennial half dollar Daniel Chester French: American Sculptor (2022 documentary)

v t e Adolph Alexander Weinman
Sculptures	General Alexander Macomb (1908) Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument (1908) Union Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1909) Abraham Lincoln (1909) Fountain of the Centaurs (c. 1926) Drafting the Declaration of Independence (1939-1943) Four Continents (with Daniel Chester French)
Coins and medals	Winged Liberty Head dime (1916) Walking Liberty half dollar (1916) American Campaign Medal (1942) Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal (1942) European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (1942) J. Sanford Saltus Medal Award American Silver Eagle coin (1986-present) American Palladium Eagle coin (2017-present)
Related	Robert Weinman (son) Audrey Munson (model)

v
t
e

Financial District

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

West of Broadway/ State Street	1 Broadway 21 West Street 65 Broadway 90 West Street 88 Greenwich Street 94 Greenwich Street 125 Greenwich Street 130 Cedar Street 195 Broadway American Stock Exchange Building Barclay–Vesey Building Bowling Green Offices Building Castle Clinton City Pier A Cunard Building Downtown Athletic Club Empire Building Firehouse, Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10 James Watson House New York County Lawyers' Association Building Old New York Evening Post Building Robert and Anne Dickey House St. George's Syrian Catholic Church St. Paul's Chapel St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church Transportation Building Trinity and United States Realty Buildings Trinity Church Trinity Court Building Whitehall Building World Trade Center One 2 3 4 7 Perelman Performing Arts Center St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Vehicular Security Center Westfield Mall
East of Broadway/ State Street	1 Hanover Square 1 New York Plaza 1 Wall Street 1 Wall Street Court 1 William Street 2 Broadway 2 New York Plaza 5 Beekman Street 14 Wall Street 15 Broad Street 15 William 17 State Street 19 Dutch 20 Exchange Place 23 Wall Street 25 Water Street 26 Broadway 28 Liberty Street 32 Old Slip 37 Wall Street 40 Wall Street 45 Broad Street 48 Wall Street 52 Broadway 55 Broad Street 55 Wall Street 55 Water Street 56 Beaver Street (Delmonico's) 56 Pine Street 60 Wall Street 63 Wall Street 63 Nassau Street 70 Pine Street 75 Wall Street 90–94 Maiden Lane 116 John Street 120 Wall Street 130 William 140 Broadway 150 Nassau Street 161 Maiden Lane 161 Water Street 170–176 John Street 250 Water Street Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House American Bank Note Company Building American Surety Building Bennett Building Broad Exchange Building Chamber of Commerce Building Continental Bank Building Continental Center Corbin Building Down Town Association Equitable Building Excelsior Power Company Building Federal Hall National Memorial Federal Reserve Bank of New York Building Fraunces Tavern Home Insurance Plaza John Street Methodist Church Keuffel & Esser Company Building Lee, Higginson & Company Bank Building Liberty Tower Morse Building New York City Police Museum New York Stock Exchange Building New York Times Building Park Row Building Potter Building Wall Street Plaza
Former buildings	Alexander Macomb House Astor House Barnum's American Museum Blair Building City Hotel City Investing Building Equitable Life Building Gillender Building Gilsey Building Government House Hanover National Building Howard Hotel Kemble Building Knickerbocker Trust Company Building Manhattan Life Insurance Building Mills Building Mortimer Building New York Produce Exchange New York Tribune Building New York World Building Pearl Street Station St. Paul Building Singer Building Stadt Huys Tontine Coffee House Tower Building Western Union Telegraph Building World Trade Center 3 4 5 6 7

Other points of interest

Arts and culture	Charging Bull China Chalet Fearless Girl Four Continents The Sphere Titanic Memorial
Parks and plazas	Austin J. Tobin Plaza‎‎ (former) The Battery Bowling Green Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza Hudson River Park Imagination Playground Liberty Park Louise Nevelson Plaza Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden Vietnam Veterans Plaza Zuccotti Park
Food and drink	Brasserie Les Halles China Chalet Crown Shy Delmonico's Fraunces Tavern Rolfe's Chop House Saga The Dead Rabbit

Education

Schools	High School of Economics and Finance Leadership and Public Service High School Léman Manhattan Preparatory School Millennium High School New York Film Academy Pace University Pine Street School New York
Museums	China Institute Federal Hall National Memorial Fraunces Tavern George Gustav Heye Center Mmuseumm Museum of American Finance Museum of Jewish Heritage New York City Police Museum Skyscraper Museum South Street Seaport

Transportation

Public transport	Subway Bowling Green Broad Street Fulton Street Rector St/Greenwich St Rector St/Trinity Pl South Ferry/Whitehall St Wall St/William St Wall St/Broadway WTC Cortlandt PATH World Trade Center Ferries Pier 11/Wall Street South Ferry Battery Maritime Building Whitehall Terminal
Other transport	Downtown Manhattan Heliport Wall Street Skyport
Streets	Albany Beaver Bridge Broad Broadway Church/Trinity Place Cortlandt Dey Exchange Fulton Greenwich John Liberty Maiden Lane Marketfield Nassau Pearl South Spruce State Stone Theatre Alley Vesey/Ann Wall Washington West Whitehall William