A museum spokesperson told CNN in a written statement on Thursday the process of removing the statue was “conducted with historic preservation specialists and approved by multiple New York City agencies”. It will include a restoration of the plaza in front of the museum.
Removal began Tuesday and the sculpture was gone as of Thursday, after a year-and-a-half process.
“The statue itself communicates a racial hierarchy that the Museum and members of the public have long found disturbing,” the museum wrote in its June request. This is conveyed in the statue’s composition: the white man, Roosevelt, is placed in the center on horseback while the other two men are behind him, walking.
In this photo from December 2, 2021, construction workers begin removing the Theodore Roosevelt statue. Credit: Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images
The library, which is set to open in 2026, said in a statement it had reached a long-term loan agreement with New York City.
Since 1940, the sculpture had stood in front of the New York museum and was originally commissioned to celebrate Roosevelt.
“The Museum is proud to continue as the site of New York State’s official memorial to Theodore Roosevelt,” it added in a written statement.
Source: www.cnn.com