This U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September 2020 from pancreatic cancer is being honored with a new sculpture in her native Brooklyn.
The work of Australian art duo Gillie and Marc, the statue is the latest in the series the “Statues for Equality” launched near Rockefeller Center on Women’s Equality Day in 2019. The initial project honored Oprah Winfrey, Pink, Nicole Kidman, Jane Goodall, Cate Blanchett, Tererai Trent, Janet Mock, Tracy Dyson, Cheryl Strayed, and Gabby Douglas with life-size bronzes.
The artists hope to draw attention to the fact that New York City suffers from a dearth of public monuments honoring real life women—until recent efforts to improve the situation, there were only five civic sculptures of historic women, compared to 145 of men.
Last summer, Central Park unveiled the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument, honoring Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth. It was the first new permanent sculpture in the park in 70 years, and its first honoring a historic woman.
Gille and Marc got Ginsburg’s approval for their statue before her death. “The statue… reflects her wish to be depicted in a dignified manner,” they said in a statement. “With the two steps on its large base representing the Supreme Court and the climb she made to get there, the work is designed to provide the public with an opportunity to stand at her side, and gain inspiration from her journey fighting for equal rights.”Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who was on hand for the work’s unveiling at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn, has declared March 15, the late justice’s birthday, Justice Ginsburg Day. “RBG was clearly a symbol of what’s great about this country and how, when we are inclusive, we can stop the level of exclusiveness that is pervasive throughout this country,” Reservation with City Point are required to view the statue.
