Copy of a copy of a copy? This boar, complete with a slew of surrounding critters (including a snake about to devour a frog), is a replica of the famous 17th-century Porcellino in Florence, Italy. The Porcellino was itself modeled on an earlier marble sculpture that is quite possibly a reproduction of a Hellenistic original.
This sculpture was a gift from Hugh Trumbull Adams, a neighborhood philanthropist who also donated the Peter Pan statue that now stands in Carl Schurz Park, as well as an armillary sphere located a few blocks south of here.
Day 990
The wild boar of Sutton Place Park
September 15th, 2014
Wow – how great to see this Matt. I knew you’d remark on this eventually. In fact (no lie) just a few days ago I was reading your posts and knowing… i’m sure i’ll see this here some day.
I was good friends with Hugh Adams. He was a good and great man of many facets. He lived in River House on 52nd in Manhattan and i visited him there a few times. His upstairs neighbor (Kissinger) and he shared the same elevator.
We travelled together a few times in Hawaii, Monterey, CA and by car thru the East coast to Lebanon, CT – a town which he endowed with all the generosity of his spirit to preserve the place where his ancestor Jonathan Trumbull and his son John and family lived.
One of my favorite memories of Hugh was when, on a driving trip, we stopped to pay our respects at his parents grave in Greenwich, Connecticut. Also his future resting place which he tended, knowing I guess that he’d be there soon enough.
He told me to take a step and see who was buried next door. It was Prescott Bush and his wife. His long white 80 year old eyebrows raised with a laugh. He loved a good joke and loved to give back. A good human being. Also (side note- now I’m getting boring) he helped preserve the original Cyrus McCormick mill (also an ancestor) in Virginia.
Interestingly, he was a bit of a Peter Pan, in the best kind of way. He showed a deep connection to joy, even in his later years. Maybe a boy who didn’t grow up too much, and was wealthy and wise enough to sustain it throughout his life.
A nice memory book you keep here Matt.
Very cool!