Honoring the African-American Experience

Duke Ellington

Sculptor Robert Graham, 1997
Frawley Circle, Fifth Avenue & 110th Street near Central Park, Manhattan
Bronze, gilding, granite

This monumental piece depicts the composer, pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington standing beside a concert grand, supported by nine latter-day caryatid figures. The sculpture is set within a multi-leveled semi-circular plaza at the gateway to Harlem – the community in which Ellington lived for much of his adult life and with which he is creatively associated.

Read the Historical Sign for Duke Ellington