Plaster Statue of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt I

mid 19th century

PLASTER STATUE OF COMMODORE CORNELIUS VANDERBILT (American, mid 19th century) attributed to sculptor John Rogers (American, 1829-1904). Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), the man responsible for building the Vanderbilt family fortune, is depicted in full-length, standing in a Jeffersonian pose with one hand to his chest. The sculpture stands on a square base. It is similar in pose to an 1869 sculpture of the Commodore designed by Albert De Groot and cast by Ernst Plassman for a 150-foot-long bronze frieze illustrating his business accomplishments installed atop the Hudson River Railroad Depot. After the depot fell out of use and was slated for demolition the statue, in 1929, was moved to Grand Central, built by Vanderbilt in 1871, where it remains today at the center of the terminal’s south façade facing the Park Avenue Viaduct.

American

plaster

28" x 9 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Bequest of Mr. Harold S. Vanderbilt, 1979.

PSNC.52