Angel of the Waters

Year1998

Classification photograph

Medium chromogenic color print on aluminum panel

Dimensionseach photograph: 5 x 4 ft. (152.4 x 121.9 cm)

Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration

The triptych "Angel of the Waters," is based on the 1863 sculpture atop Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. The nineteenth-century statue is the work of Emma Stebbins, the first woman to receive a major art commission in New York City. Although controversial in its day, Bethesda Fountain is now a beloved Central Park landmark. It evokes the grandeur of New York and provides a respite from the city's bustling streets.

By combining multiple viewpoints--north, south, east and west views--within a single photograph, and through repetition and reversal of the image, Apfelbaum animates the great statue and its surroundings. The irrational forms and spaces that result suggests New York's energy and mystery, even in this pastoral setting.

This group of mural prints is located in the main lobby space, on the second floor of the building.