IWalked New York City's Central Park - Hans Christian Anderson Statue

The namesake statue of Hans Christian Anderson portrays the author reading what is perhaps his most popular and insightful story about the man himself. Anderson, who often went by his initial H.C. (and never by Hans), initially had hopes to become an actor. He left home and moved to the capitol of Denmark, Copenhagen, at the age of fourteen where he enrolled in the Royal Danish Theatre. When his voice began to change and it was apparent he could no longer remain with the theatre, one of its directors name Jonas Collin took pity on Hans and paid for his schooling in Slagelse to become a writer. It would be some years before Hans achieved any level of success but his first book of Fairy Tales released in 1835 began a long career of short stories of which he wrote about one hundred fifty in all. Although he also wrote some novels, plays, autobiographies and others, he will always be best remembered for his children’s tales. Amongst some of the noted stories Hans wrote included, “The Little Mermaid,” “Thumbelina,” “The Princess on the Pea,” “The Snow Queen,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and “The Ugly Duckling.”

Sadly, the “The Ugly Duckling” is considered a close reflection of Anderson’s own personal life. British journalist Anne Chisholm described him best by saying, “Anderson himself was a tall, ugly boy with a big nose and big feet….he was cruelly teased and mocked by other children.” Even Anderson’s most desired friends such as Charles Dickens turned their back on the author. Anderson, who overextended a stay to visit Dickens in England over a five week period, wore out his welcome on this particular occasion but was still aghast when Dickens did not return any of his correspondence going forward.

In 1954, Danish-American sculptor George John Lober was commissioned for the sum of $75,000 to create a tributary statue of the Dutch author to honor the 150th anniversary of his birth. Funds were raised from contributions from both Danish and American school children and also via a donation from the Danish-American Women’s Association. Lober, who was the leader of the New York City Art Commission for nearly twenty years, had perfected his skills as an apprentice under Gutzon Borglum who sculpted Mount Rushmore.

The Hans Christian Anderson statue, officially unveiled in 1956, depicts the author seated on a granite bench reading his famed tale, “The Ugly Duckling.” Engraved upon the book are the first few lines of the story. In the audience of Anderson’s presence and just off to his right is a two-foot high bronze duckling admiring Anderson’s choices in literature. Similar to the nearby Alice in Wonderland sculpture, children are allowed to climb atop the statue. Many children find the open pages of the story to be an ideal chair to perch themselves within.

Unfortunately the duckling statue has been the subject of multiple instances of theft over the years. On most instances the eighty-pound statue had been pulled free and carried just a short distance before being abandoned. On August 9, 1983, however, the statue disappeared for nearly a month before it was recovered in a paper bag in a junkyard. Since this incident the statue has been locked down with bronze pins meant to withstand even the strongest of hacksaws.

Visitors to the Anderson statue during the summer may participate within the park’s annual storytelling program. Each Saturday, June-September at 11am-12pm, a free storytelling program occurs at this site. In the past celebrity readers have participated including Victor Borge who participated in one of the earliest readings on this site in 1965.

For more history regarding this site, including how you can visit this locale via one of our MP3 audio walking tours, check out our site here: iwalkedaudiotours.com/2013/08/iwalked-new-york-citys-cent...

Taken in: United States / New York / Guttenberg / Upper East Side (show map)

Taken on: May 6, 2013

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new york city

new york

central park

hans christian anderson statue

hans christian anderson

george john lober

ugly duckling

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