Photo by Patricia Youngquist
The Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt, located at the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History, was vandalized on Wednesday morning, ABC7NY reports.
Red paint was sprayed on the statue, leading the NYPD to station a police vehicle at the site.
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No arrests have been made. Police sources told Fox that surveillance video captured a male and female spraying the base of the statue with red paint before fleeing the scene slightly after midnight on Wednesday.
The statue, which has been the subject of controversy for what some consider to be racist depictions, has been vandalized in a similar manner before.
But it’s set to be removed from its current location, and received final approval to be transferred back in June. When and where it will be moved are currently unknown.
The AMNH released a statement supporting its decision to remove the statue from its entrance which can be read in full here. Some quotes from the statement:
“The Statue has long been controversial because of the hierarchical composition that places one figure on horseback and the others walking alongside, and many of us find its depictions of the Native American and African figures and their placement in the monument racist.”
“… the statue itself communicates a racial hierarchy that the Museum and members of the public have long found disturbing. What is the meaning of this statue? And how should we view this historic sculpture today?”
“To understand the statue, we must recognize our country’s enduring legacy of racial discrimination – as well as Roosevelt’s troubling views on race.”
Plenty of people opposed to the statue’s move have been vocal about their stance since the issue arose, expressing their thoughts through online comments as well as a public protest.
If one feels it is racist, they are moving it to a more inconspicuous place. It’s still museum and city property, so showing displeasure by defacing it is unacceptable. Should it be destroyed? The real persons/people to blame are the persons/people who commissioned it. Not the artist, unless it was his idea.
Vandalism is unacceptable. Vandals should be punished and forced to clean up what they messed up