America, The Four Continents

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America, The Four Continents by Daniel Chester French, 1903-1907
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
Bowling Green
Financial District, Lower Manhattan
New York, September 2008

“The sculpture of America is to the right of Asia. It is the only one of the four in which there is action in the position of the central figure. America is represented as a young, alert woman, sitting at the edge of her chair as if ready to spring forward if need be. She holds a torch in one hand, and a bushel of corn is on her lap. Her right foot, extended forward, leans on the head of an image of the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl [5]. Visible in the background over her right shoulder is a Native American man wearing a warrior's headdress. Another man, mostly nude, kneels at her side, in the protection of her arm and flowing cape. He holds tools in one hand, and with the other tends a small, winged wheel.”

(The Four Continents, New York City Public Art Curriculum)

See also: Asia - Europe - Africa (The Four Continents)