Prospect Park

Prospect Park W, Parkside Ave. bet. Flatbush Ave., Ocean Ave. and Prospect Park SW

Brooklyn, 11215

Boy and Dog

History

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This modest, intimate white marble sculpture depicting a nude boy with a faithful dog, has an uncertain historical provenance. The piece is inscribed 1866, and said to have been given to the city in November 1867 by an A.K. Gardner, M.D. It may have been displayed in provisional sculpture galleries established at Central Park’s Arsenal around 1870 or in the 1870s and 1880s at Mount Saint-Vincent in northern Central Park, on a rise above the site of today’s Conservatory Garden.

The sculpture was reported stored at Central Park’s 79th Street Yard in October 1934, and the following year was stored at the Seventh Street storage facility in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, before being placed on exhibit at the elephant house at the new Prospect Park Zoo, which opened on July 3, 1935.

Another terra-cotta version of the statue, inscribed “Protection to the Dumb,” is displayed in the Brooklyn Museum’s decorative arts galleries. That piece is attributed to the Union Porcelain Works, which was in business from 1850 to ca. 1908, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The sculpture is a quaint blend of classical imagery from antiquity and Victorian domesticity.

In 1996, the work of art was relocated to the Education Center of the newly renovated Prospect Park Zoo, and is now under the care of the New York Wildlife Conservation Society.

Click image for larger view

Boy and Dog Details

Sculptor: Karl Mueller
Description: Group of two figures (life size)
Materials: Marble
Dimensions: H: 3' (approximate)
Cast: ca. 1867
Dedicated: November 1867
Donor: A.K. Gardner, M.D.

Please note, the NAME field includes a primary designation as well as alternate namings often in common or popular usage. The DEDICATED field refers to the most recent dedication, most often, but not necessarily the original dedication date. If the monument did not have a formal dedication, the year listed reflects the date of installation.

For more information, please contact Art & Antiquities at (212) 360-8143

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Know Before You Go

Kate Wollman Ice Skating Rink: CLOSED 2012-2013

The Kate Wollman Rink will NOT be open for ice skating this winter; 2012 - 2013. The parking lot will also remain closed this winter. Construction is continuing on Lakeside , a year-round destination for recreation, relaxation, and events. Ice skating will return with the completion of this exciting new project.