Four Continents – New York City, New York

 

Reinterpretation/Recontextualization Framework. Explore definitions here.

Introduction

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House stands at the southern terminus of New York City’s Broadway thoroughfare. Since 1994, it has been home to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), a branch of the Smithsonian Institution. The Four Continents Statues stand along the north side of the building where the main entrance to the NMAI is located.

The well-known bronze Charging Bull sculpture a few yards away from the Customs House reminds visitors of the building’s connection to Manhattan’s Financial District. Many major financial institutions crucial to the economic prosperity of the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve, operate out of New York City. These institutions are located in the lower Manhattan neighborhood that was also home to Alexander Hamilton, the founder of the American banking system. The Customs House, located at 1 Bowling Green, was renamed in Hamilton’s honor to reflect his significant influence on U.S. financial policies. 

Section 1: Background 

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House sits on the site of New York City’s first Custom House. The first Custom House burned down in 1814, and the site’s subsequent structure remained as a functioning custom house until 1888. In 1892, the government purchased the site and held a competition amongst architecture firms for a new Custom House design. Architect Cass Gilbert’s design won, and the new Custom House was constructed between 1900 and 1907. The U.S. Customs services fully vacated the premises in 1971, and the Custom House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark shortly thereafter. The building became home to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in 1994 after an extensive restoration effort. The NMAI shares the building with the New York City branch of the National Archives and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. 

The building that stands today was designed by Cass Gilbert at the turn of the 20th century to symbolize the strength of the United States as an economic superpower. The Four Continents sculptures, created by Daniel Chester French, which are allegorical in nature, further bolstered that narrative.

Section 2: The Four Continents Sculptures

The America sculpture depicts a woman holding a torch, with a sheaf of corn on her lap, and her right foot standing on the head of an image of the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl. A man holding a tool and a wheel kneels at her side, and an Indigenous man wearing a warrior’s headdress stands behind her.

The sculpture representing Europe features a woman wearing a crown and a cloak in the style of the Ancient Greeks, with her left arm resting on a large book on top of a globe. Behind her, an elderly woman is reading a book. 

The figure representing Asia is a woman seated with a Buddha on her lap and holding a lotus flower. Her bare feet stand on skulls. There is a tiger to her right, and three figures to her left, an elderly man with his hands tied behind his back, a boy kneeling in prayer, and a woman carrying a baby. The elderly man and woman lean on the main figure for support.

The sculpture representing Africa is a bare-chested woman sleeping on rocks, with one arm resting on a lion and the other on a sphinx. There is a figure behind her covered in a cloak. 

The placement of the statues on the same side as the main entrance to the Customs House adds to the allegorical interpretation. The statues that represent the United States and Europe flank the grand steps. Through their location, visitors are reminded of the prominence of these nations. The sculptures that represent Asia and Africa are the outermost statues, suggesting a peripheral and subjugative relationship to influence and power.

The problematic nature of the statues are briefly mentioned in tours. Tour guides describe how the statue that represents Africa is the only statue that features a bare chested woman. The guides also mention that the statue representing Asia is associated with negative imagery. Public programming regarding the statues also called out the racist imagery. For instance, Kevin Gover, Director of the NMAI, described the “Asia Statue” as “inscrutable and dangerous, resting on a throne of skulls from those murdered throughout the Asian empire” (Keyes 2018).

There are currently four interpretive panels in front of the statues told through the lens of the NMAI. The panels provide interpretation of the America statue as it relates to Native American symbology, drawing out symbolism that is not often explored in art historical descriptions of the sculpture. 

Clockwise from top, the captions on the blue panel read as follows:

1) Has-Queem, the Delaware word for corn, is one of great contributions to the world from the native peoples of this hemisphere.

2) The eagle, an important spiritual image in many native cultures, was adopted as a symbol of power by the new American nation. 

3) The broken pottery vessels and the buffalo skull allude to the native people who existed on this land long before the arrival of Europeans.

4) The raven, like the eagle, has a great significance to many native cultures of the Arctic and Northwestern regions of North America.

Since the completion of the Alexander Hamilton Customs House in 1907, there have been only two instances of vandalism at the Four Continents Statues. In both instances, paint was strewn on the objects and crews quickly removed the paint. The identities of the vandals remain unknown (Moore 2022).

Section 3: Significance 

Although the statues did not honor a person, the statues memorialize and enforce problematic ideas about a hierarchical world order. Nayar (2010) further explains: 

Colonial discourse is the construction of the native, usually in stereotypical ways, in European narratives, images and representations in a variety of modes and genres such as the arts, literature, the law, science writing, and administrative reports. The native is  constructed as primitive, depraved, pagan, criminal, immoral, vulnerable and effeminate in colonial discourse. Such a discourse then constructs a reality where a future European administration would not only see the native through the lens of this discourse, but also enact policies or initiate political-administrative measures because they believe in the truth-claims of the discourse. Discourse becomes in other words, the mode of perceiving, judging and acting upon the non-European (2).

Policies regarding immigration and social programs were constructed through this lens. It is on record that the sculptor, French, utilized these ideologies of colonial discourse in the creation of his work. Such ideals supported colonialism and justified the subjugation of the perceived other. The mere existence of the statues serves to reinforce white supremacist ideas. The placement of the Four Continents sculptures at the entrance to the former U.S. Customs House centers white supremacist ideals in the narrative of U.S. economic growth and development. 

Furthermore, the United Nations acknowledges the role of colonialism and its disastrous effects. On December 14, 1960 at the 947th Plenary, the United Nations adopted a resolution to call for an end to colonization and support independence of former colonies. The document stated: 

Recognizing that the peoples of the world desire an end to colonization and all of its manifestations… 3) Inadequacy of political, economic, social, or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence (UN General Assembly 1960).

The resolution not only acknowledges the destructive nature of colonialism, it also recognized the right to sovereignty of all nations. It is a universal acceptance that the countries inherently have a right to be independent and that the level of political infrastructure cannot be used to deny independence because that in effect privileges and legitimizes one iteration of a governing system over another. By extension, decolonization places equal value and agency of all governments and peoples. It values all traditions and expressions of faith as valid.

Section 4: Framework – Reinterpretation/Recontextualization  

4.1. A Proactive approach

In 2020, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for the management and historic preservation of the property, re-examined the Four Continents sculptures. This occurred at the request of the NMAI. As a result, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts were created to educate the public about the statues and other problematic public art in the GSA real estate portfolio. The GSA had been aware that the monuments were problematic, but action wasn’t taken until the events of 2020 provided significant social pressure. 

How do you navigate a site that blends into the landscape and quietly sits as offensive? David Anthone, GSA’s Historic Preservation Office, states, “so many people, when they walk by, say to me, well, why are these offensive? But then when we go through the explanation, they begin to see it” (Moore 2022). In 2020, the General Services Administration hosted two conversations in collaboration with the National Archives that examined the legacy of Daniel Chester French and the Four Continents sculptures.

The first event, a webinar entitled “The Four Continents-A Commission of Daniel Chester French: A Discussion with Harold Holzer” took place in November 2020. The program featured noted historian Harold Holzer and gave insight into the life of Daniel Chester French as well as the process of creating the statues. The second event in the series, entitled “Four Continents: An Open Dialogue,” was a conversation between Michele Cohen, Curator for the Architect of the Capitol, and Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. The programming was an effort to engage with the public, give context to the creation of statues, and elevate current conversations regarding the statues.

During a discussion of the sculpture, Anthone referred to the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 that  governs the treatment of the statues. The law asserts that the artist retains certain rights to their work despite any changes in ownership. Specifically, the law states that artists have the right to:

(A) to prevent any intentional distortion, mutilation, or other modification of that work which would be prejudicial to his or her honor or reputation, and any intentional distortion, mutilation, or modification of that work is a violation of that right, and (B)to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work is a violation of that right (Title 17 Copyrights).

Although Daniel Chester French passed away 91 years ago, there are parameters to the treatment of the Four Continents Statues. Removing the statues is not an option, however, the GSA has chosen to reinterpret and recontextualize the statues in collaboration with the NMAI.

While the discussions to address the statues occurred during 2020, the statues themselves were not in the public eye like other controversial monuments. Is it easier to address a space that is not actively the subject of public derision? Without the urgency of public action, the General Services Administration was able to be thoughtful with its approach to the statues and craft a greater and meaningful response. The outgrowth of which was the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. This initiative includes various stakeholder groups within the GSA portfolio including the National Museum of the American Indian. 

References

Heller, A. 2018. “Breaking Down the Symbols: Reading The Events At Charlottesville Through A Postcolonial Lens.” Southeastern Geographer, 58(1), 35–38. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26409156

Keyes, Allison. 2018. “Two Museum Directors Say It’s Time to Tell The Unvarnished History of the United States.” Smithsonian Magazine. March 5, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/two-museum-directors-say-its-time-tell-unvarnished-history-us-180968341/. 

Moore, Cequyna. 2022. Interview with David Anthone. March 28, 2022. 

Nayar, Pramod K. 2010. Postcolonialism : a guide for the perplexed. Continuum.

U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). 2024. “Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, New York, NY.” January 9, 2024. https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/historic-preservation/explore-historic-buildings/find-a-building/all-historic-buildings/alexander-hamilton-us-custom-house-new-york-ny

U.S. Government Publishing Office. 2011. 17 U.S.C. United States Code, 2011 Edition Title 17 – COPYRIGHTS,https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title17/html/USCODE-2011-title17.htm.

U.S. National Archives. 2018. “The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House and the National Archives at New York City.” Online Exhibit. Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/RwUxzCh_D5K_IA. 

United Nations (UN) General Assembly. 1960. “Declaration on the Granting of Independence to  Colonial Countries and Peoples A/RES/1514(XV).” United Nations General Assembly. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-granting independence-colonial-countries-and-peoples.