New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [64]
The independent Posman Books (9 Grand Central Terminal, at Vanderbilt Ave. and 42nd St. | 10017 | 212/983–1111) has an outstanding selection of cheeky and serious high-quality greeting cards, as well as a great range of contemporary and classic books across genres.
ART IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER
The mosaics, murals, and sculptures that grace Rockefeller Center—many of them considered Art Deco masterpieces—were all part of the plan of John D. Rockefeller Jr. In 1932, as the steel girders on the first of the buildings were heading heavenward, Rockefeller put together a team of advisers to find artists who could make the project “as beautiful as possible.” More than 50 artists were commissioned for 200 individual works.
Some artists scoffed at the idea of decorating an office building: Picasso declined to meet with Rockefeller to discuss the project, and Matisse replied that busy business executives would not be in the “quiet and reflective state of mind” necessary to appreciate his art. Those who agreed to contribute, including muralists Diego Rivera and José María Sert, were relatively unknown at the time and not popular with the public. A group of American artists protested Rockefeller’s decision to hire these “alien” artists.
As Rockefeller Center neared completion in 1932, Rockefeller still needed a mural to grace the lobby of the main building. The industrialist’s taste dictated that the subject of the 63-by-17-foot mural was to be grandiose: “human intelligence in control of the forces of nature.” He hired Rivera for the job.
With its depiction of massive machinery moving mankind forward, Rivera’s Man at the Crossroads seemed exactly what Rockefeller wanted—until it was realized that a portrait of Soviet Premier Vladimir Lenin surrounded by red-kerchiefed workers occupied a space in the center. Rockefeller, who was building what was essentially a monument to capitalism, was less than thrilled. When Rivera was accused of willful propagandizing, the artist famously replied, “All art is propaganda.”
Rivera refused to remove the portrait. Despite negotiations to move it to the Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller was determined to get rid of it. Not content to have it painted over, he ordered ax-wielding workers to chip away the entire wall.
Rockefeller ordered the mural replaced by a less offensive one by Sert. But Rivera had the last word. He re-created the mural in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, adding a portrait of Rockefeller among the champagne-swilling swells ignoring the plight of the workers.
The largest of the original artworks that remained is Lee Lawrie’s 2-ton sculpture, Atlas. Its building also stirred controversy, as it was said to resemble Italy’s fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini. The sculpture, depicting a muscle-bound man holding up the world, drew protests in 1936. Some even derided Paul Manship’s golden Prometheus, which soars over the ice-skating rink, when it was unveiled the same year.
Lawrie’s sculpture Wisdom, perched over the main entrance of 20 Rockefeller Plaza, is another gem. Also look for Isamu Noguchi’s stainless-steel plaque News over the entrance of the Bank of America Building at 50 Rockefeller Plaza and Attilio Piccirilli’s 2-ton glass-block panel called Youth Leading Industry over the entrance of the International Building. René Chambellan’s bronze dolphins in the fountains of the Channel Gardens are also crowd-pleasers.
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Updated by John Rambow
To many New Yorkers the Upper East Side connotes old money and high society. Alongside Central Park, between 5th and Lexington avenues, up to East 96th Street, the trappings of wealth are everywhere apparent: posh buildings, Madison Avenue’s flagship boutiques, and doormen