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List of public art in Boston facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This list features two sortable tables of art works on permanent public display in Boston, Massachusetts and its neighborhoods

It comprises works of public art, including sculpture, relief panels, tablets and fountains with sculptural features, accessible in an outdoor public spaces or inside state or federally owned public buildings. This does not include artwork visible inside museums or visible only on private property.

This table is not complete and most likely will not include recent installations. Please feel welcome to contribute/add these in the Additional Artworks area below.

Usage

The tables' columns (except for note, Type and Image) are sortable by pressing the arrows symbols. The following gives an overview of what information is included in the table.

  • Name: The artwork's commonly used name or name as it has been entered on its Wikipedia page (where it has one)
  • Artist: name of the primary artist(s) or designer(s) if known.
  • Year: variously the artwork's installation date; date of creation; or date of reinstallation at its current location
  • Location: the street, park, intersection or plaza where the artwork is currently located
  • Material: the main material(s) from which the artwork is constructed
  • Dimensions: the approximate dimensions of the artwork, where known
  • Notes: additional information, including ownership or known repairwork
  • Image: a picture of the artwork, where available

This page seeks to be an aggregate list of general facts. For information on individual sculptures, please visit the individual artwork's pages.

Artworks

City of Boston

Includes: Back Bay, Boston, North End, South End, Boston

Name Artist Year Location Material Dimensions Notes Image
The Embrace Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group 2023 Boston Common bronze height: 6.7 m (22 ft)
George Thorndike Angell Memorial Peabody & Stearns 1912 Post Office Square, Boston

Angell Memorial Plaza

terrazzo; gilded copper; steel. h. 60 ft. x W. 10 ft. Angell-monument.jpg
Appeal to the Great Spirit Cyrus Edwin Dallin 1908 Boston Museum of Fine Arts bronze sculpture: 290 cm × 250 cm × 300 cm (114" × 100" × 120") Boston Museum of Fine Arts Appeal to the Great Spirit, Boston MFA - IMG 3431.JPG
Aristides Statue Louisburg Square height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Army Nurses Memorial Bela Pratt Massachusetts State House sculpture: 2.5 m (96")
Red Auerbach Statue Lloyd Lillie 1985 Quincy Market bronze 5 ft. x 6 ft. x 2 ft. 3 in
Bagheera Fountain Lilian Swann Saarinen 1939 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite sculpture: 32" x 16" x 16"

plinth: 57" high, 60" diameter.

Lion Catching Bird.jpg
John Barry Tablet John Francis Paramino 1949,

1977 copy

Boston Common bronze; granite
Beacon Hill Monument 1898 rebuilt Massachusetts State House, Ashburton Park granite; slate, Bronze
Boston Common Tablet R. Clipston Sturgis 1913 Boston Common slate, granite 15 x 5 x 20 ft 20180526 - 10 - Boston, MA (Boston Common) - "Metahistory".jpg
Boston Irish Famine Memorial Robert Shure 1998 Washington Street and School Street plaza
Boston Massacre Monument Robert Kraus Boston Common bronze; granite Boston Massacre Memorial - IMG 9560.JPG
Boston Public Garden Flagpole Base William D. Austen 1921 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite sculpture: 6 x 4 x 4 ft

plinth: 3.5 x 7 x 7 ft.

Boston Women's Memorial Meredith Bergmann 2003 Commonwealth Avenue Mall bronze; granite USA-Boston-Abigail Adams Women's Memorial0.jpg
Boy and Bird Fountain Bashka Paeff 1934,

recast
1977, 1992

Boston Public Garden bronze Boy and Bird Fountain, Boston Public Garden - 2.JPG
Brewer Fountain Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard 1868 Park Street and Tremont Street corner bronze; granite height: 22 ft (6.7 m) Brewer Fountain - DSC08220.JPG
Phillips Brooks Statue Augustus Saint-Gaudens; Frances Grimes 1910 Copley Square bronze; granite; marble
Robert Burns Statue Henry Hudson Kitson 1920, relocated 1975 Back Bay Fens bronze; granite sculpture: 108" x 60"x 60"

plinth: 56" x 48" x 62"

Thomas Cass Statue Richard E. Brooks 1899 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite (red beach Maine) sculpture: 8 ft. x 2 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. 4 in.

plinth: 6 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 8 in

William Ellery Channing Statue Herbert Adams 1903 Boston Public Garden, exterior wall bronze; granite (Milford); marble sculpture: 8 ft. 5 in. x 45 in. x 46 in.

plinth: 25 ft. x 24 ft. x 86 in.

Charlestown Civil War Memorial Martin Milmore 1872 Winthrop Square Granite Charlestown Civil War Memorial (36253).jpg
China Trade Gate David Judelson 1988 Chinatown (Beach Street) Boston Chinatown Paifang.jpg
City Carpet Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg 1983 Old City Hall Mosaic: ceramic;

bronze; stone; brick; concrete

Bust of Patrick Collins Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson, Henry Hudson Kitson 1908 Commonwealth Avenue Mall bronze; granite Boston PACollins Memorial sw 9636 20190502.jpg
Christopher Columbus Statue, Beacon Hill 1850 Louisburg Square marble
Christopher Columbus Statue, North End Andrew J. Mazzola 1979 Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park marble; granite
John Singleton Copley Statue Lewis Cohen 2002 Copley Square bronze
James Michael Curley Statues Lloyd Lillie 1980 Faneuil Hall bronze
Edwin Upton Curtis Memorial 1924 Charles River Esplanade
Bust of Richard Cushing James Rosati 1980-1 Cardinal Cushing Memorial Park Bronze; Granite (red)
Declaration of Independence Tablet John Francis Paramino 1925 Boston Common bronze; granite
Tony DeMarco Statue Harry Weber 2012 North End bronze
Democratic Donkey 1998 installed Old City Hall bronze
Charles Devens Statue Olin Levi Warner 1894 Charles River Esplanade bronze; granite sculpture: 7 x 3 x 3 ft

plinth: 7 x 3 x 3 ft

Dolphins of the Sea Katharine Lane Weems 1977 New England Aquarium bronze
Mary Dyer Statue Sylvia Shaw Judson 1959 Massachusetts State House bronze; granite Mary Dyer by Sylvia Shaw Judson - Boston, MA - DSC05489.JPG
Echo of the Waves Susumu Shingu 1981 New England Aquarium painted steel; Teflon coated fiberglass
Charles Eliot Memorial 1831 Charles River Esplanade granite Charles Eliot Memorial - Charles River Esplanade - Boston, MA - DSC02543.JPG
John Endecott Statue C. Paul Jennewein 1936 Forsyth Park granite (white, red) Boston (2019) - 116.jpg
Leif Erikson Statue Anne Whitney 1887 Commonwealth Avenue Mall bronze; granite
Ether Monument William Robert Ware or John Quincy Adams Ward 1868 Boston Public Garden granite height: 12 m (40 ft)
Edward Everett Statue William Wetmore Story 1866 Richardson Park bronze; granite sculpture: 7 x 4 x 2.5 ft.

plinth: 7 x 5.5 x 5.5 ft

David Farragut Statue Henry Hudson Kitson 1891 Marine Park bronze; granite
Arthur Fiedler Memorial Ralph Helmick 1984 Charles River Esplanade aluminum, granite
Benjamin Franklin Statue Richard Saltonstall Greenough; Thomas Ball 1856 Old City Hall sculpture: 100" x 26". x 26"

plinth: 111" x 90" x 90"

USA-Benjamin Franklin Statue0.jpg
The Founders Memorial John Francis Paramino 1930 Boston Common bronze; granite
William Lloyd Garrison Statue Olin Levi Warner 1886 Commonwealth Avenue Mall bronze; granite (Quincy) sculpture: 7 ft. x 4 ft. x 6 ft. 4 in.

plinth: 4 ft. 9 in. x 4 ft. x 6 ft. 4 in.

William Lloyd Garrison by Olin Levi Warner, Boston, MA - IMG 5448.JPG
John Glover Statue Martin Milmore 1875 Commonwealth Avenue Mall bronze; granite sculpture: 8 ft. x 3 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. 6 in

plinth: 6 ft. 6 in. x 5 ft. 6 in. x 5 ft. 6 in.

John Glover statue, Boston - IMG 1301.jpg
Marvin E. Goody Memorial Joan Goody 1984 Boston Public Garden granite (red, Dakota mahogany)
Edward Everett Hale Statue Bela Pratt 1913 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite
Alexander Hamilton Statue William Rimmer 1865 Commonwealth Avenue Mall granite sculpture:10 ft. x 3 ft. 4 in. x 3 ft. 4 in. Alexander Hamilton statue by William Rimmer.jpg
Harbor Fog Ross Miller 2009 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway steel; bronze; granite; LED lights
Joseph Hooker equestrian statue Daniel Chester French; Edward Clark Potter 1903 Massachusetts State House, Ashburton Park bronze; granite General Joseph Hooker by Daniel Chester French, Boston, MA.JPG
Hotel Vendome Fire Memorial Ted Clausen; Peter White 1997 Commonwealth Avenue Mall granite
Hungarian Revolution Memorial E. Gyuri Hollosy 1986 Liberty Square Park bronze; granite; steel
Anne Hutchinson Statue Cyrus Edwin Dallin 1915 Massachusetts State House bronze; granite sculpture: 98" x 52" x 30"

plinth: 78" x 66" x 48"

Indian Hunter Paul Manship Museum of Fine Arts, Boston bronze; granite Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
John F. Kennedy Statue Isabel McIlvain 1990 Massachusetts State House bronze; granite sculpture: 8 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft. x 18 in.

plinth: 27 x 72 x 87.5 in

Tadeusz Kościuszko Statue Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson 1927 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite sculpture: 10 ft. x 32 in. x 27 in

plinth: 6 ft. x 6 ft. x 5 ft. 7 in.

Japanese Lantern 1587 Boston Public Garden granite gifted to the city by Bunkio Matsuki in 1904
Pope John Paul II Memorial Frank Chalfant Gaylord, II 1981 Boston Common granite 53 .5" x 32" x 8.25"
Henry Cabot Lodge Statue Raymond Averill Porter 1932 Massachusetts State House bronze; granite sculpture: 96 x 30 x 28 1/2 in.,

plinth: 73 x 56 x 53 1/2 in

Lotta Fountain Katharine Lane Weems; J. W. Ames and E. S. Dodge 1939 Charles River Esplanade granite
Make Way for Ducklings Nancy Schön 1987 Boston Public Garden bronze
Horace Mann Statue Emma Stebbins 1865 Massachusetts State House bronze; granite
Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial Robert Shure 2007 Massachusetts State House, Ashburton Park bronze; granite
Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial Michael Kenny 2004 Massachusetts State House, Ashburton Park granite
Samuel Eliot Morison Statue Penelope Jencks 1982 Commonwealth Avenue Mall bronze; granite
New England Holocaust Memorial Stanley Saitowitz 1995 Carmen Park glass; steel
A Once and Future Shoreline Ross Miller 1996 Faneuil Hall, west side granite City of Boston
Oneida Football Club Monument Joseph Arthur Coletti 1925 Boston Common marble tablet: 198 cm x 76.2 cm x 17.78 cm Oneida fc orig members.jpg
John Boyle O'Reilly Memorial Daniel Chester French 1896 Back Bay Fens bronze; granite John Boyle O'Reilly Memorial - Boston, MA - IMG 2998.JPG
Bobby Orr Statue Harry Weber 2010 TD Garden bronze
The Partisans Andrzej Pitynski 1983 South Boston waterfront aluminum
George S. Patton Statue James Earle Fraser 1953 Charles River Esplanade bronze; granite
Wendell Phillips Statue Daniel Chester French 1915 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite (Stony Creek pink) Wendell Phillips by Daniel Chester French, Boston Public Garden.jpg
Poe Returning to Boston Stefanie Rocknak 2014 Boylston Street and Charles Street, Edgar Allan Poe Square
Josiah Quincy III Statue Thomas Ball 1879 Old City Hall Josiah Quincy by Thomas Ball - Boston, MA - DSC05875.jpg
Paul Revere equestrian statue Cyrus Edwin Dallin 1885, cast 1940 Paul Revere Mall bronze; granite Paul Revere bronze by Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Boston.jpg
Bill Russell Statue Ann Hirsch 2013 Boston City Hall Plaza bronze
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Statue Ivette Compagnion 1973 Commonwealth Avenue Mall bronze; concrete sculpture: 10 ft. x 4 ft. 1 in. x 3 ft. 3 in USA-Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.jpg
Robert Gould Shaw Memorial Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1897 Beacon Street bronze; granite
Small Child Fountain Mary E. Moore 1929 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite sculpture: 28" x 21" x 17"
Soldiers and Sailors Monument Martin Milmore 1877 Boston Common granite; bronze column: 126 ft

plinth: 35 ft square

Statler Fountain Ulysses Anthony Ricci 1930 Statler Park bronze; granite
James J. and Helen Storrow Memorial 1948 Charles River Esplanade bronze; granite
Charles Sumner Statue Thomas Ball 1878 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite
Temple Bell Suzuki Magoemon 1675 Back Bay Fens bronze, granite sculpture: 91 cm x 61 cm diameter, (36" x 24" diameter)

plinth: 109 cm x 81 cm x 81 cm (43" x 32" x 32")

Thermopylae Dimitri Hadzi 1966 Boston City Hall Plaza bronze sculpture:12 ft. tall and 16 ft. wide
Maurice J. Tobin Statue Emilius R. Ciampa 1958 Charles River Esplanade bronze; granite
The Tortoise and the Hare Nancy Schön 1994 Copley Square bronze
Triton Babies Fountain Anna Coleman Ladd 1922 Boston Public Garden bronze, granite Triton Babies in Boston Public Garden.JPG
Harriet Tubman Memorial) Fern Cunningham 1999 South End; Harriet Tubman Park bronze
David I. Walsh Statue Joseph Arthur Coletti 1954 Charles River Esplanade bronze; granite sculpture: 8 x 3 x 3 ft.
George Washington equestrian statue Thomas Ball 1869 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite sculpture: 22 x 6 x 15 ft

plinth: 16 x 8 x 15 ft.

George Washington, Boston Public Garden, Massachusetts LCCN2011630423.tif
Daniel Webster Statue Hiram Powers 1859 Massachusetts State House bronze; granite
George Robert White Memorial Daniel Chester French; Henry Bacon 1924 Boston Public Garden bronze; granite George Robert White Memorial - Boston, MA - DSC02614.JPG
Kevin White Statue 2006 Faneuil Hall bronze
John Winthrop Statue Richard Saltonstall Greenough 1873 First Church in Boston bronze; concrete sculpture: 7 ft. x 2 ft. 5 in. x 2 ft. 3 in.

plinth: 4 ft. 6 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft

World War I Memorial Albert Henry Atkins 1922 Adams Square granite sculpture: 8 x 12 x 1 ft
World War II Memorial, Fenway - Kenmore John Francis Paramino 1948 Back Bay Fens bronze; granite World War II memorial - panoramio.jpg

Boston Neighborhoods

Includes: Charlestown, East Boston, and Jamaica Plain (Cambridge has its own page)

Title Artist Year Location Material Dimensions Notes Image
Death and the Sculptor Daniel Chester French 1889 Jamaica Plain

Forest Hills Cemetery

bronze Death and the sculptor.jpg
Firemen's Memorial John A. Wilson 1909 Jamaica Plain

Forest Hills Cemetery

bronze; granite Firemen's Monument, Boston by John A Wilson- far.jpg
Madonna, Queen of the Universe Arrigo Minerbi 1954 East Boston bronze, copper height: 10.6 m (35 ft)
Massachusetts Korean War Memorial Robert Shure; Moisey S. Altshuler 1993 Charlestown

Charlestown Naval Shipyard Park

bronze; granite; brick
Donald McKay Memorial Robert Shure 2005 East Boston

Bremen Street Park

bronze; granite
William Prescott Statue William Wetmore Story 1881 Charlestown, Monument Square bronze; granite (Quincy) sculpture: 8 ft. x 4 ft. x 5 ft. 10 in.

plinth:74" x 64" x 70"

Prescott statue (36283).jpg
Vietnam Veterans Memorial 2009 Charlestown

Green Street 42°13′32″N 71°02′18″W / 42.22565°N 71.03824°W / 42.22565; -71.03824

granite Boston (2019) - 455.jpg
Joseph Warren Statue Henry Dexter 1857 Charlestown

Monument Square

World War II Memorial, Charlestown 1946 Charlestown

City Square Park

granite height: 15 ft. Boston (2019) - 379.jpg

Additional Artwork

  • Split Dodecahedron, 2012, Don Tellalian, Rose Kennedy Greenway
  • Citgo sign, 1965, Kenmore Square
  • Giant Milk Bottle by Arthur Gagner, 1934
  • Bunker Hill Monument” by Solomon Willard, 1842, Charlestown
  • Rainbow gas tank (untitled, but often called the “Rainbow Swash”) by Corita Kent, 1971, Dorcester
  • Roxbury Love Mural by Ricardo "Deme5" Gomez and Thomas “Kwest” Burns, 2014, spray paint, 17 ft. x 100 ft., Roxbury. Removed 2020.
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