NYC #33: Henry Bergh, Green-Wood Cemetery (3), Brooklyn

'Humility of Man Before a Group of Agelesss Animals
By Wilhelm Hunt Diederich (1884–1953)
and John Terken (1912–1993)

 

This bas-relief, a tribute to the bond between man and animals, was given by its renowned artists to the ASPCA circa 1953 and hung on its Manhattan headquarters until 1992. Generations of New Yorkers viewed this iconic sculpture while passing the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) headquarters along the FDR Drive at 92nd Street. In 2006, this sculpture was installed at Green-Wood Cemetery, below the grave of Henry Bergh, the founder and first presidnet of the ASPCA, in his honor and in celebration of the 140th anniverary of the founding of the ASPCA, the first humane organization in the Americas. It will remain here on permanent loan, inspiring kindness and compassion to all living things.'