Artwork History
This monument is dedicated to the novelist, Ralph Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994). His best known novel Invisible Man, published in 1952, was one of the first novels to portray modern racial issues in America from a Black person’s perspective. In 1998, the Ralph Ellison Memorial Committee was established by local Harlem residents to memorialize Ralph Ellison’s legacy in the neighborhood he loved. The Committee worked in partnership with Riverside Park Conservancy to raise funds for a sculpture designed by the trailblazing artist Elizabeth Catlett. The Ralph Ellison Memorial is Catlett’s first and only public commissioned work, and was unveiled on May 1, 2003. You can visit this impressive statue on Riverside Drive at 150th Street. Ralph Ellison’s home at 730 Riverside Drive faces the site, and Ellison often strolled in this section of the park. Today, Conservancy staff and volunteers work year-round to maintain the gardens surrounding his memorial.
| Artist: |
Elizabeth Catlett
|
| Dedicated: | May 1, 2003 |
| Location: | 150th Street and Riverside Drive |
| Description: | Sculpture; rectangular bronze structure with cut-out male figure; four engraved stone markers |
| Architect: | Ken Smith, Landscape Architect |
| Materials: | Bronze and deer isle granite |
| Dimensions: | H: 15′ W: 7’6″ D: 6″ Weight: 5,000 lbs |
| Foundry: | Johnson Atelier, Mercerville, NJ |
| Cast: | 2002 |
Inscription
Inscription 1:
RALPH ELLISON / 1914-1994 / AMERICAN WRITER / LONGTIME RESIDENT OF 730 RIVERSIDE DRIVE / HIS PIONEERING NOVEL, INVISIBLE MAN (1952), / DETAILS THE STRUGGLES OF A YOUNG / AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN IN A HOSTILE SOCIETY. /
Inscription 2:
“I AM AN INVISIBLE MAN… / I AM INVISIBLE, UNDERSTAND, SIMPLY BECAUSE / PEOPLE REFUSE TO SEE ME.” / -RALPH ELLISON, 1952 / INVISIBLE MAN / ELIZABETH CATLETT / SCULPTOR / MAY 2003 /
Inscription 3:
“THE VERY IDEA OF BEING IN NEW YORK WAS DREAMLIKE, / FOR LIKE MANY YOUNG NEGROES OF THE TIME, I THOUGHT / OF IT AS THE FREEST OF AMERICAN CITIES, AND CONSIDERED / HARLEM AS THE SITE AND SYMBOL OF AFRO-AMERICAN / PROGRESS AND HOPE. INDEED, I WAS BOTH YOUNG AND / BOOKISH ENOUGH TO THINK OF MANHATTAN AS MY / SUBSTITUTE FOR PARIS, AND OF HARLEM AS A PLACE OF LEFT / BANK EXCITEMENT. SO NOW THAT I WAS THERE IN ITS / GLAMOROUS SCENE, I MEANT TO MAKE THE MOST OF ITS / OPPORTUNITIES.” / -RALPH ELLISON / AN EXTRAVAGENCE OF LAUGHTER, 1986 /