Statue of Robert Fulton
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Object Label
The Conservator's Eye
This statue portrays the American engineer and inventor Robert Fulton (1765–1815) with a model of his boat the Nassau, the first steam-powered ferry to operate between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
This sculpture is cast from zinc, a gray metal, which can be seen in areas where the paint has worn away. Pieces made of zinc can be joined by soldering, because of the metal’s low melting point. Using zinc to cast a sculpture in sections was easier, faster, and less expensive than using other traditional materials, such as bronze, which required casting the sculpture in one piece.
Caption
Caspar Buberl American, born Bohemia, 1834–1899. Statue of Robert Fulton, 1872. Zinc, paint, lead-tin solder, plaster (repairs), height: 126 in., 2500 lb. (320 cm, 1133.99kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Museum of the City of New York, 2010.21. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.2010.21_in_situ01.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Manufacturer
Title
Statue of Robert Fulton
Date
1872
Medium
Zinc, paint, lead-tin solder, plaster (repairs)
Classification
Dimensions
height: 126 in., 2500 lb. (320 cm, 1133.99kg)
Signatures
Inscribed in cursive on the proper right self-base near the front corner : "C. Buberl / Sculptor"
Markings
Foundry mark inscribed in cursive on the left front self-base: "M.J. Seelig & c/Founder"
Credit Line
Gift of the Museum of the City of New York
Accession Number
2010.21
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
How was this statue of Robert Fulton brought into the museum?
That statue was originally part of the facade of the Fulton Ferry Building, at the end of Fulton Street on the Brooklyn waterfront. In 1935, it was moved to Fulton Park.Due to the materials (the statue is made of zinc), it would not have been able to stand up to the outdoor weather. A bronze replica was created to stand in the Park, and it's still there today.This sculpture, once it was removed from the Park, was loaned to the Museum of the City of New York by the City. In 2010, the Museum of the City of New York gave it to the Brooklyn Museum.It has quite a history!Oh wow!!When the statue moved to Fulton Park it had an inscription reading: "FULTON / ERECTED IN MEMORY OF ROBERT FULTON / FATHER OF THE STEAMBOAT / AT FULTON FERRY HOUSE OCTOBER 13, 1872 / RELOCATED AT FULTON PARK NOVEMBER 14, 1930 / BY THE SOCIETY OF OLD BROOKLYNITES"Fulton's ferry service connected Brooklyn to Manhattan during its operations in the nineteenth century, so he was seen as an important historical person in the area! That ferry ran until 1926.Why is this sculpture so big?
This statue shows the American engineer Robert Fulton with a model of his boat the Nassau, the first steam-powered ferry to operate between Manhattan and Brooklyn. This sculpture once stood in a niche on the upper story of the Ferry Terminal on the Brooklyn waterfront. It is large so that he could be seen from below and from a distance, as one arrived in Brooklyn!There’s a smaller version of this sculpture of Robert Fulton in Fulton Park on Fulton St between Stuyvesant and Lewis Aves—is it from the same era? Who commissioned the original?
The version in the park is a replica of this one, it was made later. This sculpture is made of zinc which was beginning to weather outdoors so a more durable bronze copy was made.This version is from 1872, the copy was made at some point in the 20th century.Thank you!Is this statue one piece? How did you get it into the museum?!
To my knowledge, he is all one piece!Like with most museums, we have loading docks and a freight elevator, not accessible to the public, for moving very large and heavy artworks!Have you seen the granite sarcophagus on the third floor yet? It's so heavy the floor had to be reinforced!I will take a look thanks! I’m a collections manager, so always interested in how objects get in and out.Is this who Fulton st is named after?
Yes it is! This statue was originally made for the Fulton Ferry Terminal in Brooklyn (which explains the boat, an invention of Fulton's) and was later moved to Fulton Park before coming to the Museum.¿Quién es?
El es Robert Fulton. Inventó barcos de vapor que transportaban personas entre Brooklyn y Manhattan, revolucionando el transporte en Nueva York.
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