New York statue
The memorial sculpture in Manhattan's Central Park was cast and dedicated on 2 October 1880. It was the first statue of Burns to be erected outside Scotland and was a gift to the City of New York from Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York and the Scottish-American community. For this sculpture Steell closely followed the portrait of Burns painted by Alexander Nasmyth in 1787. Seated on a tree stump with a quill pen in one hand, Burns looks up to heaven. He is thinking of his true love Mary Campbell, who died at an early age. It was to her that he had written the poem "To Mary in Heaven" inscribed on the scroll at his feet. The statue is located at .The Scottish and English statues
The Dundee statue was unveiled only two weeks after the one in New York in 1880 and the third cast was erected on the Thames Embankment in London in 1884. The Dundee statue is located at and the London statue is located at .Dunedin statue
The Dunedin statue was the last of the set to be unveiled, on 24 May 1887. A statue of Burns was deemed relevant to the city, both because of the city's Scottish roots (it was founded by the Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900), Free Church of Scotland in 1848), and also because one of the city's founding fathers was Rev. Thomas Burns (minister, born 1796), Thomas Burns, a nephew of the poet. In likeness, it is closest to the London statue. There had been discussion whether to place the statue in front of the Dunedin Railway Station, railway station, but an elevated placement in The Octagon, Dunedin, The Octagon, the central plaza of Dunedin, was eventually chosen. The statue was unveiled by Miss Burns, a great-grand niece of Robert Burns. Speeches were given by former Governor-General of New Zealand, Governor and Prime Minister of New Zealand, Premier of New Zealand Sir George Grey, and Richard Henry Leary, the Mayor of Dunedin. Cyril Croker, a solicitor who spent his teenage years in Dunedin, would say of the statue that:It was situated between the St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin, Cathedral and two hotels, and, true to his reputation, Burns had his back to the Cathedral, and his face to the pub.Because of its placement on what is now known as the McMillan terrace, the statue is the backdrop to many public speeches. On 27 July 1988, the statue was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage structure with reference number 2208. The statue is located at .
See also
* List of Robert Burns memorials * List of sculptures in Central ParkReferences
External links
* {{Portal bar, London, New York City, New Zealand, Poetry, Scotland, Visual arts 1880 establishments in New York (state) 1880 establishments in Scotland 1880 sculptures 1884 establishments in England 1887 establishments in New Zealand Bronze sculptures in London Bronze sculptures in Central Park Bronze sculptures in New Zealand Bronze sculptures in Scotland Culture in Dundee Culture in Dunedin Monuments and memorials in London Monuments and memorials in Manhattan Monuments and memorials in Scotland Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in Otago Outdoor sculptures in London Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan Outdoor sculptures in New Zealand Outdoor sculptures in Scotland Sculptures of men in New York City Sculptures of men in New Zealand Sculptures of men in the United Kingdom, Burns, Robert Statues in England Statues in New York City Statues in New Zealand Statues of Robert Burns, Burns The Octagon, Dunedin Victoria Embankment City of Westminster