Christopher Columbus, (sculpture).

Christopher Columbus, (sculpture).

Bigarani, Mauro, 1940- , sculptor.

Christopher Columbus, (sculpture).

1984. Dedicated Oct. 8, 1984. Removed July 4, 2020.

Sculpture: Italian Carrara marble; Base: marble.

Sculpture: approx. 88 x 30 x 30 in.; Base: approx. 94 x 76 x 76 in.

(Incised on base, front and back:) CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS/DISCOVERER OF AMERICA/OCTOBER 12, 1492/DEDICATED TO THE/CITY OF BALTIMORE/BY THE/ITALIAN AMERICAN/ORGANIZATION UNITED/OF MARYLAND/AND THE ITALIAN/AMERICAN COMMUNITY/OF BALTIMORE/IN COMMEMORATION OF/THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA/OCTOBER 12, 1984/WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER/MAYOR OF BALTIMORE. (Incised in base, in gold leaf, below respective reliefs:) THE SANTA MARIA/98 FEET LONG AND 27 FEET WIDE/MANNED BY 40 MEN/THE PINTA/80 FEET LONG AND 2O FEET WIDE/MANNED BY 40 MEN/THE NINA/66 FEET LONG AND 20 FEET WIDE/MANNED BY 24 MEN/GENOA ITALY/BIRTHPLACE OF COLUMBUS/1451/MEETING WITH THE INDIANS/OCTOBER 12, 1492/THE LANDING IN AMERICA/OCTOBER 12, 1492 unsigned

Full-length figure of Christopher Columbus stands on an octagonal pedestal. The figure wears a tunic, leggings and a long coat. He holds a rolled-up scroll in his proper left hand which is at his chest. His proper right hand rests on a globe which stands on its own pedestal. Six sides of the pedestal contain reliefs. Included in reliefs images of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, Genoa, Italy, Columbus's landing in America and his meeting with the Indians.

Portrait male -- Columbus, Christopher -- Full length

Occupation -- Other -- Explorer

Occupation -- Transportation -- Navigator

Ethnic -- Italian

Object -- Written Matter -- Scroll

Object -- Other -- Globe

Ethnic -- Indian

Architecture -- Boat -- Santa Maria

Architecture -- Boat -- Pinta

Architecture -- Boat -- Nina

Landscape -- Italy -- Genoa

Italian American Organizations United Inc., Baltimore, Maryland

Formerly Administered by City of Baltimore, Recreation and Parks, 2600 Madison Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217 1984-2020.

Formerly located Columbus Piazza, Pocket Park at South President's Street & Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21230 1984-2020.

Gift of the Italian American Organization United of Maryland and the Italian American Community of Baltimore in 1984. IAS files contain a related article from The Sun (Baltimore, MD), Dec. 4, 1985. After protesters tore down the statue and threw it in Baltimore's Inner Harbor on July 4, 2020, a group of Italian American retrieved the statue pieces with the intension of restoring the statue. Later the director of Baltimore's Parks and Recreation Department signed a termination agreement returning the statue to the Italian American Organizations United. In 2022, Maryland artist Will Hemsley created a replica of the statue using pieces of the original statue retrieved from the harbor. The restoration process involved 3D scans of the pieces which were then stitched together to make a mold. The replica was cast from a mixture of crushed marble and resin. The new statue, which is approximately 9 1/2 feet tall and weighs and 2,000 pounds, will go to temporary storage until a permanent home can be found.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland, Baltimore survey, 1993.

Kelly, Cindy, "Outdoor Sculpture in Baltimore, A Historical Guide to Public Art in the Monumental City," Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pg. 27.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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