As I walked up through the bottom of Central Park and rounded the corner to see it, my jaw dropped open. Firstly, it was much bigger than I expected and it was SO well made with such amazing attention to detail.
It was a very busy attraction, mostly with children climbing all over it. It was lovely to see a bunch of timelessly classic characters being enjoyed still to this day.
The sculpture was constructed in 1959 by José de Creeft under the commission of philanthropist George Delacorte so that children could visit and experience the wonder of Lewis Carroll’s classic story. Atypical of most sculptures, children are invited to climb, touch and crawl all over Alice and her friends. In fact, through the decades thousands of hands and feet have literally polished parts of the statue’s surface smooth.
The design for the bronze sculpture was patterned off the original illustrations of John Tenniel that were used in the first published edition of the book. The obvious centerpiece of the work, Alice, who depicts the face of Creeft’s daughter, Donna, is pictured sitting on a giant mushroom reaching toward a pocket watch held by the White Rabbit. Peering over her shoulder is the Cheshire Cat, surrounded by the Dormouse, Alice's cat Dinah, and the Mad Hatter -- a caricature of George Delacorte.
Photography wasn't too easy as I tried to get the statue in and keep the children out. Below are my attempts...
The White Rabbit...or, the black and grey rabbit in this case :P
Alice with her cat Dinah
The Cheshire Cat
The Mad Hatter
I love the light in this view of Alice and Dinah
The door mouse staring out the Mad Hatter
Side view of Dinah
And yes, of course I climbed on the statue to pose for a photo (or two).
