Four Continents (French)


Four Continents is the collective name of four sculptures by Daniel Chester French, installed outside the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green in Manhattan, New York City. French performed the commissions with associate Adolph A. Weinman.

Description and history

The work was made of marble and sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers, with each sculptural group costing $13,500. From east to west, the statues depicted larger-than-life-size personifications of Asia, America, Europe, and Africa. The primary figures were female, but there were also auxiliary human figures flanking each primary figure. In addition, Asia's figure was paired with a tiger, and Africa's figure was paired with a lion.