This breathtaking statue of Joan of Arc Memorial statue by Anna Hyatt Huntington was installed in New York City’s Riverside Park in 1915 and is about to turn one hundred years old!
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University just opened an exhibition, Goddess, Heroine, Beast: Anna Hyatt Huntington’s New York Sculpture, 1902–1936, about the life and career of this remarkable artist. Anna Hyatt Huntington was one of the first American female artists to achieve widespread success, particularly in the realm of public sculpture. Her works can be found in many of New York’s most important artistic and cultural institutions and public spaces. An online map of her public sculptures in New York City is planned by the Wallach but is not yet available.
Anna seems to have been every bit as feisty and formidable as the women she chose to represent in her sculptures. Following the success of the Joan of Arc sculpture, she apparently dressed up as the character, complete with a horse, to attend a charity ball. I think she and I would have gotten along just fine. 🙂
Sources:
Higonnet, Anne. “Wild at Heart: Rediscovering the sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington”. The Magazine Antiques. vol.181, no.1 (Jan/Feb 2014). p.174-181.
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery website
Cover image credit: Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Update 3/23/2021: Read my much longer and more detailed article about Anna Hyatt Huntington, which includes information about where to see her works, at this link.