William Tecumseh Sherman (Saint-Gaudens)

William Tecumseh Sherman, also known as the Sherman Memorial or Sherman Monument, is a sculpture group honoring William Tecumseh Sherman, created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and located at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, New York. Cast in 1902 and dedicated on May 30, 1903, the gilded-bronze monument consists of an equestrian statue of Sherman and an accompanying statue, Victory, an allegorical female figure of the Greek goddess Nike. The statues are set on a Stony Creek granite pedestal designed by the architect Charles Follen McKim.

History
The idea for the statue dates back to as early as 1888. The architect Charles Follen McKim and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens decided in 1902 to install an equestrian statue of U.S. Army general William Tecumseh Sherman in Central Park. Several sites had been considered, including Sherman Square on the Upper West Side; the median of Riverside Drive just south of Grant's Tomb; another site on Riverside Drive; and Grand Army Plaza. The Central Park Mall was also considered but ruled out. The statue was dedicated in the northern half of Grand Army Plaza on May 30, 1903.

The plaza was re-landscaped in the 1910s after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer died in 1911, bequeathing $50,000 for the creation of a memorial fountain. As part of the fountain's construction, the Sherman Monument remained in the northern half, but moved 15 ft west to be symmetrically opposite the fountain.

On July 23, 1974, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Grand Army Plaza, including the Sherman Monument, as a New York City scenic landmark. On March 26, 1985, the Central Park Conservancy and the architecture firm of Buttrick White & Burtis presented plans to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a full restoration of the plaza, including the Sherman Monument. The work was completed in June 1990, including a re-gilding of the statue, and the replacement of a palm frond and a sword that had been removed previously. Grand Army Plaza was renewed again in 2013, including a re-gilding of the statue of William Tecumseh Sherman.

Critiques
According to the report prepared by the Landmarks Commission for its 1974 designation, many consider the Sherman Monument to be Saint-Gaudens’ finest work. Not everyone agreed; according to Frank Weitenkampf, sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward was less than enthusiastic about the equestrian composition: "Saint-Gaudens was a timid rider and it showed in this work.... if the horse should stumble the general would inevitably be thrown over his head."

Use on coinage
The obverse of Saint-Gaudens' 1907 United States Saint-Gaudens double eagle coin, portraying Liberty, is based on his sculpture of Victory.