page_title: Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt (New York City)
section_title: Controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt (New York City) / Controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: American Museum of Natural History
context_page_description: Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt is a 1939 bronze sculpture by James Earle Fraser. It is located on public park land at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. The equestrian statue depicts Theodore Roosevelt on horseback. Walking on either side of him are two men, one an indigenous person and one an African.
  On June 21, 2020, the Museum announced that it was asking city officials to remove the statue. Museum president Ellen V. Futter said the decision did not reflect a judgment about Roosevelt but was driven by the sculpture's "hierarchical composition". New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, pushed for it and it was supported by Roosevelt's great-grandson, Theodore Roosevelt IV, and great-great-grandson Kermit Roosevelt III
context_section_description: In 1999 James Loewen argued in Lies Across America that the statue was erected when the museum was openly racist, and that the arrangement of the figures is meant to advocate white supremacy.
  This statue was not otherwise the subject of public controversy in the 20th century. It was mentioned in the April 2017 TED talk Can Art Amend History? by artist and activist Titus Kaphar, discussing the choice of pose showing that "Teddy Roosevelt is sitting there ...and on the left-hand side of him is a Native American walking and on the right-hand side of him is an African-American walking" as a representation of white social hierarchy in America. After the Unite the Right rally due to the controversial removal of an equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee, this and many other statues across America also became the focus of attempts to remove glorifications of America's racist past. This statue was defaced with red paint on the morning of October 26, 2017. A few hours later, a group claiming responsibility for the defilement stated that the statue embodied “patriarchy, white supremacy, and settler-colonialism.”
  In January 2018, a commission appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to review several statues on city property concluded that this statue was open to many interpretations and made no recommendation for action. The commission's members were divided evenly. Some citing research that the standing figures are allegorical representations of the continents and noting that these figures "are in no way abject". Others emphasized how the sculpture is experienced, "that height is power in public art", an expression of "power and dominance". New York Times critic Holland Cotter found that decision disappointing: "It doesn’t require a sensitivity to subtexts to see that the composition, no matter how you gloss it, is quite literally an emblem of white-man-on-top."
  In July 2019, the Museum of Natural History mounted an exhibit devoted to the statue and contemporary interpretations called "Addressing the Statue". The presentation including many contrasting viewpoints and invited comments from visitors. David Hurst Thomas, the curator of anthropology at the Museum said: "The museum is making a really explicit statement that we’re big enough to stand up for our past. We're not going to cover it up. We’re going to welcome dissent." The exhibit included an extensive website for further exploration of the sculpture and its interpretation. It presented comments by the sculptor and his collaborators alongside those of academics who contested what the two walking figures represent and whether Roosevelt could be described as a "racial unified".
  To provide context for those viewing the sculpture, the Museum installed laminated placards at its base that said: "This statue was unveiled to the public in 1940, as part of a larger New York State memorial to former N.Y. governor and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Today, some see the statue as a heroic group; others, as a symbol of racial hierarchy. You can learn more about this statue inside the Museum and [online]." They were not visible at a distance and were dwarfed by the monument itself.
caption: Frontal view
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