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J. Marion Sims
The statue in Central Park in 2008
Medium	Bronze sculpture
Subject	J. Marion Sims

J. Marion Sims is a bronze sculpture depicting the American physician of the same name by Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller.

Description

The sculpture consists of a nearly 9-foot-tall image of a standing Sims upon a plinth resting on a pedestal, and supporting piers on either side with roundels containing descriptions. The figure of Sims is cast in bronze, and the other elements of the sculpture are granite from North Jay, Maine.

History

The statue was cast in Munich, Germany, in 1892 and was dedicated on October 20, 1894. Originally erected in Bryant Park in 1894, it was taken down in the 1920s amid subway construction, and moved to the northeastern corner of Central Park, at 103rd Street, in 1934, opposite the New York Academy of Medicine.

This statue became a cause of controversy in 2017 due to Sims' experimental operations on enslaved black women. In August of that year, the statue was vandalized, with someone writing the word "racist" on it in spray paint. Activists' push to remove the statue intensified following the publication of the book Medical Apartheid. In April 2018, the New York City Public Design Commission voted unanimously to have the statue removed from Central Park and installed in Green-Wood Cemetery, near where Sims is buried. The following day, the statue was moved to Green-Wood, where it was temporarily placed in storage. The pedestal or supporting piers remain at Central Park. The cemetery plans to place the statue near Sims' gravesite once a historical display on Sims' life is created.

See also

• 1894 in art

References

1. ^ "Historical Signs: Dr. James Marion Sims Sculpture: Green-Wood Cemetery". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on 2005-04-06. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
2. ^ "Central Park: Dr. James Marion Sims". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013.
3. H M Shingleton (March–April 2009). "The Lesser Known Dr. Sims". ACOG Clinical Review. 14 (2): 13–16.
4. ^ Neuman, William (April 16, 2018). "City Orders Sims Statue Removed from Central Park". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
5. Pérez, Miriam Zoila. "New Target for Statue Removal: 'Father of Gynecology' Who Operated on Enslaved Black Women". Race Forward. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
6. Brown, DeNeen L. (April 30, 2018). "A surgeon experimented on slave women without anesthesia. Now his statues are under attack". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
7. ^ Sayej, Nadja (April 21, 2018). "J Marion Sims: controversial statue taken down but debate still rages". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.

v t e Central Park
Manhattan, New York City
Geographical features Cedar Hill Conservatory Garden Conservatory Water Great Lawn and Turtle Pond Harlem Meer Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir McGowan's Pass North Woods and North Meadow The Pond and Hallett Nature Sanctuary The Ramble and Lake Rat Rock Sawkill (historical) Seneca Village (historical) Sheep Meadow Strawberry Fields
Sculptures and public art 107th Infantry Memorial Alice in Wonderland sculpture Angel of the Waters Balto Simón Bolívar Burnett Memorial Fountain Robert Burns Christopher Columbus Cleopatra's Needle Delacorte Clock Duke Ellington Memorial Frederick Douglass Memorial Eagles and Prey The Falconer Fitz-Greene Halleck Alexander Hamilton Victor Herbert Indian Hunter King Jagiello Monument José Martí Giuseppe Mazzini Samuel Finley Breese Morse Romeo and Juliet José de San Martín Sir Walter Scott Seventh Regiment Memorial William Shakespeare J. Marion Sims (moved 2018) The Gates (temporary, 2005) The Tempest Untermyer Fountain Three Dancing Maidens USS Maine National Monument Daniel Webster Women's Rights Pioneers Monument
Other features Arsenal Ballplayers House Belvedere Castle Bethesda Terrace and Fountain Blockhouse Bridges Bow Carousel Central Park Casino (demolished) Cherry Hill Fountain The Dairy Delacorte Theater Diana Ross Playground Fort Clinton Heckscher Playground Lasker Rink Mall Marionette Theatre McGown's Pass Tavern (demolished) Richard Morris Hunt Memorial Rumsey Playfield Tarr Family Playground Tavern on the Green Victorian Gardens Wollman Rink Zoo Zoo York Wall Zoo York
Events Be-Ins The Concert UAE Healthy Kidney 10K New York Mini 10K Concerto: One Night in Central Park Shakespeare in the Park SummerStage
Transport Border roads Frederick Douglass Circle 110th Street Duke Ellington Circle Eighth Avenue Central Park Fifth Avenue Columbus Circle 59th Street Grand Army Plaza Transverses 66th 79th 85th 97th Subway stations Fifth Avenue–59th Street 59th Street–Columbus Circle 72nd Street 81st Street 86th Street 96th Street 103rd Street Cathedral Parkway–110th Street Central Park North–110th Street
Notable figures Elizabeth Barlow Rogers Andrew Haswell Green Jacob Wrey Mould Frederick Law Olmsted Ignaz Anton Pilat Starr Saphir Calvert Vaux Egbert Ludovicus Viele George E. Waring Jr.
Notable animals Barry Flaco Gus Mandarin Patinkin Pale Male Pattycake
Miscellaneous Birdwatching incident Conservancy Jogger case Medical Unit Popular culture
See also: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

• 1894 establishments in New York (state)
• 1892 sculptures
• Bronze sculptures in Brooklyn
• Bronze sculptures in Central Park
• Bronze sculptures in New York City
• Bryant Park
• Granite sculptures in New York City
• J. Marion Sims
• Outdoor sculptures in New York City
• Relocated buildings and structures in New York City
• Sculptures of men in New York City
• Statues in New York City
• Vandalized works of art in New York City