[Unveiled 1871]
1791-1872
b. Charlestown, Mass. • d. New York, N.Y.
Sculptor: Byron M. Picket
At the entrance of Inventor's Gate on the
east side of Central Park at 72nd Street, is the
appropriately placed statue of Samuel Morse,
an American painter and inventor. He is
standing next to his most renowned invention,
the electric telegraph. With one hand on his
invention the other displays a strip of
Morse Code.
He was also a founder and first President of
the National Academy of Design established
in 1825. Dedicated to artists for the sole
purpose of instruction and exhibition, the
Academy's commitment to this goal still persists.
