[Unveiled
1877]
1790-1867 b. Guilford, Connecticut • d. Guilford, Connecticut
Sculpted: 1876
Sculptor: James Wilson Alexander MacDonald 1824-1908 USA Gift by public donations
Further
down the path of Literary Walk,
a statue of Fitz Greene Halleck occupies a
spot among the elms. He is found seated in a
chair with his legs crossed, holding a small
booklet in one hand and a quill in the other.
For all its nobility this statue is the oddest
placement in Central Park although Halleck
was a prominent member of the Knickerbocker
Group a society of writers who sought to
promote New York City as a literary center.
Though influenced in the spirit of the pen
by Byron, Scott and Burns,
whose company
he occupies on Literary Walk he was never
all that inspired to make poetry his vocation.
His time was basically consumed by his work
as a bank employee and as the confidential
secretary to John Jacob Astor.
He definitely had powerful, wealthy and
influential friends, which might shed some
light on the obscure reasoning for his bronze
immortality.
Halleck is best known for his satires and his
verse eulogy of Marco Bozzaris, a Greek patriot.
