Holiday Gift Guide 2019: The Statues of Central Park #holidaygiftguide2019 #statuesofcentralpark #newyorkcity

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Holiday Gift Guide 2019: The Statues of Central Park

$24.95 US/$28.95 CAN

Forward by Mitchell J. Silver, New York City Parks Commissioner

Photography by Catarina Astrom

Written by June Eding

Central Park is the most famous park in the United States of America. With 42 million visitors annually, it is the most famous sightseeing spots in New York. Tourists come from all around the world to experience the vast collection of art installations, sculptures and monuments erected throughout the park, in perfect complement to its pristine beauty. The Statues of Central Park captures each of these sculptures and monuments, presenting them in one spectacular photography collection, complete with full description of each piece's unique and interesting histories. With this book, you can join the millions of people who have walked the park's grounds on a guided tour of this most extraordinary place, and learn why Central Park is the most visited park in America. 

"From the very first sculpture installed in the park in 1859 (the bust of Johann C.F. von Schiller, a romantic dramatist, poet and philosopher) to the latest (Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women’s Suffrage Movement, to be installed in 2020), I am personally grateful to June Eding and Catarina Astrom for producing this book, spotlighting the statues in Central Park. I hope you will enjoy the journey, and if you have not been to Central Park, I hope this book will inspire you to visit and experience the beautiful landscape and the world’s largest outdoor art museum in person."-excerpt from the foreword by Mitchell J. Silver, NYC Parks Commissioner. 

Part One of the book is an introduction, a layout of the park, describing how it was built and how it effects the city of New York. It was built in 1873 by designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. In the 1800's New York needed a substantial public park to accommodate a population that was growing in leaps and bounds. Between 1821 and 1855 the population of the city nearly quadrupled. The idea of the designers was to take the people out of the city and lead them into a rustic landscape. They planted thousands of trees, flowers and plants from around the world; bringing in a wonderland of flora and fauna that would delight the visitors to the park. They also added elegant bridges, expansive lawns, and created curving paths to explore. Upon its completion, visitors had a place to getaway and enjoy some leisure time. Throughout the decades since its completion, the park has become like a second home to those with crowded apartments, providing a place to experience nature and to come together for exercise and fun. 

In its early days actual sheep grazed in the Sheep Meadow. During the Depression, Shantytowns once dotted the park before being removed to open up free space for the Great Lawn. The park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Today it's home to live performances, places for socializing, recreation, a zoo, a carousel, a sailboat pond, bicycle paths, fields for baseball and softball and food vendors. 

The sculptures of Central Park are scattered throughout and are just as important as everything else that is in the park. They provide elements of surprise, opportunities to learn and reflect and to celebrate the people they were created after. The sculptures represent various activists, philosophers, patriots, composers, musicians, playwrights, poets, and more. They were placed there in the park over centuries and provide glimpses into another era and offer three dimensional lessons in art and history. Each of the scuplptures presents a new opportunity for viewers to contemplate a distant past or be awestruck by nature's wonder. They showcase pieces from the art of sculpture and allow the viewer to ponder the periods of history that these men and women lived in. 

Part Two are photographs of the sculptures themselves. Along with the photographs, are descriptions of the sculpture and the person it represents. Part Three is a History Behind The Art Section, which exactly what it means, a history lesson behind the statues and why they are represented in the park. 

Catarina Astrom, who did the photography for this book, has been a professional photographer for almost 20 years. She enjoys the diversity of photography, one day she might photograph celebrities and royalty and the next day she might work on an exercise book or a cookbook, and the third day photograph a wedding or an advertisement. June Eding, the author, is an accomplished writer having authored a number of books such as Who Was Queen Elizabeth?, A Little Book of Love, Thank You, Snow Magic, Peace, and Trooper's Triumphs, written for The Humane Society of Missouri. She currently lives in New York City.

I enjoyed reading the book and getting to know the park. I have never been there and will likely never walk through the park on my own. But I at least can see the beauty of it through the lens of the camera. 

The Statues of Central Park can be purchased through www.hatherleighpress.com, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com. Like Hatherleigh Press on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HatherleighPress; Follow Hatherleigh Press on Twitter: @HatherleighPr; Follow Hatherleigh Press on Instagram: http://instagram.com/hatherleighpr and Subscribe to Hatherleigh Press on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/HatherleighPr.

Happy Holidays!

Marie Papachatzis

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(This item was sent for consideration)