Central Park In Bronze

Location: 59th Street and Sixth Avenue  

Artist/Designer: Louis-Joseph Daumas           

Materials: Bronze, black granite

Installation: 1951

Funding: Gift to New York from Venezuela

 

General Don Jose de San Martin (1778-1850) helped lead the fight for independence of several South American nations. His road to victory over the Spanish Royalists in Lima is considered one of the boldest plans of action by any military leader. For two years, San Martin tirelessly prepared his Army of the Andes for military decisiveness and physical endurance. Then in January 1817, he marched 4,000 troops over 500 kilometers of the Andes mountain range to take Lima from an unexpected direction. He lost a third of his army along the way.

 

This statue was given to New York in exchange for one of George Washington, which is now on display in Buenos Aires.