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Freedom of the Human Spirit

History

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found postedwithin the park.

What is this monument dedicated to?
Freedom of the Human Spirit, a colossal bronze sculpture depicting a male and a female nude with wild swans soaring skyward, was sculpted by Marshall Fredericks (1908–1998) for the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65. The sculpture manifests one of the central themes of that fair—space exploration—as with the Rocket Thrower statue, the Court of Astronauts, Fountain of the Planets, Space Park and the Unisphere.

How was this created?
In 1961 the New York World’s Fair Corporation, under the direction of former NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888–1981), established a Committee on Sculpture to select artists whose work ranged “from contemporary conservative to the more conservative avant-garde.” The committee arrived at a short list of ten recommended sculptors after much deliberation. Ultimately, they commissioned five sculptors to create pieces expected to outlast the Fair, including Marshall Fredericks, Paul Manship (1885–1966), Theodore Roszak (1907–1981), Jose de Rivera (1904–1985), and Donald De Lue (1897–1988).

Fredericks was born in Rock Island, Illinois in 1908. He studied at the John Huntington Polytechnic Institute, then graduated in 1930 from the Cleveland School of Art. He later traveled extensively in Europe, studying in several countries. Among his instructors was the well-known Swedish sculptor Carl Milles (1875–1955), who probably influenced Frederick’s stylized realism. For the New York World’s Fair of 1939-40, held at Flushing Meadows, Milles created the central sculpture, The Astronomer, while Fredericks sculpted Baboon Fountain.

Fredericks joined the faculty of the Cleveland School of Art in 1931, and then taught from 1932 to 1942 at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He left teaching to enter the armed forces during World War II and served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Pacific and Far East. After the war, Fredericks was frequently in demand for public and private commissions. He created hundreds of sculptures, many monumental in size, including monuments for Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan and President John F. Kennedy at Mount Clemens, Michigan. Some of his major works include the Thinker at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, and Man and the Expanding Universe, a fountain in front of the State Department in Washington, DC.

In addition to his career as a sculptor, Fredericks was active in public life at home and abroad. T He served as Royal Danish Consul for Michigan from 1965 to 1995. He received awards and citations from numerous institutions and organizations in the United States as well as royal honors from the monarchs of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan currently houses over 200 of his sculptures. Fredericks made a second casting of “Freedom of the Human Spirit” in 1986 that was installed in Birmingham, Michigan.

About this piece, Fredericks commented, “I realized that great multitudes of people, of all ages, and from all walks of life would see this sculpture…I tried to design the work so that it was as free of the earth, as free in space as possible…the thought that we can free ourselves from earth, from the material forces which try to restrain and hamper us, is a happy, encouraging and inspiring one, and I sincerely hope that my work will convey this message.”

At the fairgrounds, the sculpture stood in what was known as the Court of States. In 1996, the construction of a redesigned United States Tennis Center and renovation of the park’s core area caused the statue’s relocation to a site aligning with the Unisphere, and the tennis center entryway. It was conserved in 2015 by the NYC Parks Citywide Monuments Conservation Program, a public-private initiative.

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  • Group of two upright figures (heroic scale), one male,one female, supported by three swans in flight, attached to upright spikes, on a circular pedestal
  • Group of two upright figures (heroic scale), one male,one female, supported by three swans in flight, attached to upright spikes, on a circular pedestal
  • Group of two upright figures (heroic scale), one male,one female, supported by three swans in flight, attached to upright spikes, on a circular pedestal
  • Group of two upright figures (heroic scale), one male,one female, supported by three swans in flight, attached to upright spikes, on a circular pedestal

Freedom of the Human Spirit Details

  • Location: Court of States (Second Street) near United States Pavillion
  • Sculptor: Marshall Fredericks
  • Description: Group of two upright figures (heroic scale), one male,one female, supported by three swans in flight, attached to upright spikes, on a circular pedestal
  • Materials: Bronze, pink granite
  • Dimensions: Group H: 20' W" 9'10" D: 9'10"; Pedestal H: 2' 2 1/4" Diameter: 10'6"
  • Cast: ca. 1964
  • Dedicated: 1964
  • Foundry: Bedi-Makky Art Foundry, New York
  • Inscription: Founder's mark on work: BEDI-MAKKY ART FOUNDRY, N.Y.

Please note, the NAME field includes a primary designation as well as alternate namingsoften in common or popular usage. The DEDICATED field refers to the most recent dedication, most often, butnot necessarily the original dedication date. If the monument did not have a formal dedication, the yearlisted reflects the date of installation.

For more information, please contact Art & Antiquities at (212) 360-8163

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Marinas
World's Fair Marina
Due to a major planned reconstruction project, Pier 1 at the World's Fair Marina is currently closed. Limited transient dockage is available for smaller recreational vessels - please contact the Dockmasters office at 718-478-0480 or VHF Ch71 for more information. There is no dockage available for larger vessels or commercial vessels, including passenger pick-up and drop-off. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please check back with the World's Fair Marina in the future for updates.

Contacts

General Park Info: (718) 760-6565
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