Poe Park

Edgar Allan Poe

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

Sculptor Edmond Thomas Quinn (1868–1929) created this bronze portrait bust of Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), the esteemed poet and creator of the American Gothic tale and the detective story. In 1909, the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences presented this piece to the City to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the poet’s birth. The sculpture was vandalized soon after its installation, and subsequently moved inside the cottage that Poe and his young wife, Virginia, had lived in from 1846 to 1849.

Sculptor Quinn was also a painter, and studied with noted artist Thomas Eakins. He has several pieces in New York, including the portrait bust of Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor Victor Herbert (1927) in Central Park, as well as pieces in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum.