New York Art@Site www.artatsite.com Coutan Jules-Félix Hercules, Minerva and Mercury
Artist:

Coutan Jules-Félix

Title:

Hercules, Minerva and Mercury

Year:
1914
Adress:
Grand Central Station
Website:
www.wikipedia.org:
The Main Concourse is the center of Grand Central. The space is cavernous – 275 ft (84 m) long, 120 ft (37 m) wide and 125 ft (38 m) high[17]:74 – and usually filled with bustling crowds. The ticket booths are in the Concourse, although many now stand unused or have been repurposed since the introduction of ticket vending machines. The large American flag was hung in Grand Central Terminal a few days after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The main information booth is in the center of the concourse. This is a perennial meeting place, and the four-faced clock on top of the information booth is perhaps the most recognizable icon of Grand Central. The clock, designed by Henry Edward Bedford and cast in Waterbury Connecticut, is made from brass.[18] Each of the four clock faces is made from opalescent glass (now often called opal glass or milk glass), though urban legend has it that the faces are made of opal and that Sotheby's and Christie's have estimated their value to be between $10 million and $20 million. A 1954 New York Times article[19] on the restoration of the clock notes that"Each of the glass faces was twenty-four inches in diameter...". Within the marble and brass pagoda lies a"secret" door that conceals a spiral staircase leading to the lower-level information booth.
Outside the station, the 13-foot (4 m) clock in front of the Grand Central facade facing 42nd Street contains the world's largest example of Tiffany glass. It is surrounded by sculptures Minerva, Hercules, and Mercury. The sculptures were designed by French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan and carved by the John Donnelly Company. At its unveiling in 1914, the 48-foot (14.6 m)- high trio was considered the largest sculptural group in the world.
The upper level tracks are reached from the Main Concourse or from various hallways and passages branching off from it. On the east side of the Main Concourse is a cluster of food purveyor shops called Grand Central Market.