Joan of Arc Monument

The Joan of Arc Monument holds a unique distinction as the first public statue in New York City to honor a real historical woman. Before its unveiling in 1915, the city’s public monuments were reserved for men or allegorical figures. The sculptor, Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington, broke this barrier with her bronze equestrian depiction of the French saint. She chose to focus on the spiritual side of Joan of Arc by showing her standing in her stirrups, sword raised, and gazing toward the heavens. The work was so technically accomplished for its time that the jury at the Paris Salon, where an early model was displayed, struggled to believe it could have been created by a woman.