Rip Van Winkle
Irvington, NY
N 41° 02.884 W 073° 51.679
Short Description:
A relief sculpture of Rip Van Winkle is depicted as part of the Washington Irving Memorial at is located on the west side of Route 9 at Broadway and Sunnyside Lane in Irvington, NY.
Long Description:
Rip Van Winkle is one of the most famous characters created by American author Washington Irving. He appears in a collection of stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Idle and henpecked Rip Van Winkle falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later to find the world around him has changed so much that he doesn't recognize the place nor do the people recognize him. He is taken in by his daughter but soon reverts to his idle ways.
The Washington Irving Memorial was commissioned in 1926, sculpted by Daniel Chester French, the architect was Charles Platt Adams, it was cast at the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and fabricated by Piccirilli Brothers Marble Carving Studios. It was dedicated on June 27, 1927, rededicated June 27, 1977 and rededicated once again on October 25, 1998.
In the center of a curved pink granite wall a pedestal holds a 34 by 32 by 13 inch bronze bust of Washington Irving. On Irving's left side is a 6' high bronze relief sculpture of Rip Van Winkle. Rip Van Winkle is shown in 3/4 profile facing Irving. He is wearing a ragged long coat and wide-brimmed hat. He holds his aged and corroded rifle vertically by the barrel with his left hand. On Irving's right side is a relief of Boabdil the Last King of Granada which completes the composition.
Below relief on Rip Van Winkle is inscribed in bronze letters:
RIP VAN WINKLE
THE DREAMER OF THE KAATSKILLS
No comments:
Post a Comment