Augustus Saint-Gaudens' wonderful bas relief bronze sculpture of Robert Gould Shaw, a white officer from Boston, leading the 54th Regiment of Black volunteers in the Civil War, is at the northeast corner of Boston Common, facing the Massachusetts State House.
Through their heroic, yet tragic, assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863, in which Shaw and many of his men died, the 54th helped erode Northern public opposition to the use of Black soldiers and inspired the enlistment of more than 180,000 Black soldiers into the United States forces.
A horseback George Washington greets visitors on the western edge of Boston Common.
A hawk thought Washington's tricorn was a good perch.
The Boston Foundation Monument is on the northern edge of Boston Common. It is a 1930 sculpture by John Francis Paramino, set in granite. It depicts William Blaxton (left) greeting John Winthrop (right) and others, including Ann Pollard, two Native Americans, and an allegorical female representing Boston.
The family in Make Way for Ducklings, a wonderful book by Robert McCloskey, is memorialized by a bronze sculpture by Nancy Schön, a park landmark since 1987. Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack follow their mother at the northeast corner of the Public Gardens, along Charles Street.
3 comments:
I read that book to my son when he was little. Love the sculpture.
Great sculptures all. I tend to like the real wild-life of the hawk, but it is hard to beat all those ducklings!
Love the ducklings.
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