3. Central Park Women’s Rights Monument
Central Park is perhaps New York’s best-known, albeit unofficial, sculpture park, featuring famous sculptures like The Angel of the Waters in Bethesda Fountain, the Egyptian obelisk Cleopatra’s Needle, King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland, and Alexander Hamilton. Yet, among Central Park’s 23 statues of historical figures, none honor a woman; among the only women featured in the park are the fictional Alice in Wonderland, Juliet (with Romeo), and Mother Goose, yet not a single historical statue depicts a woman.
Last week, the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument depicting Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony was unveiled on Literary Walk, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. The sculpture depicts the three women gathered around a table for a possible strategy meeting, with Anthony standing in the middle holding a pamphlet that reads “Votes for Women,” Stanton on her left holding a pen, and Truth in the midst of speaking. All three women are not only Women’s Rights pioneers but also New Yorkers. See more photos from the opening ceremony here.