To punctuate the end of this Trumpful week, join me in lauding the original New York Appellate Division Beaux-Arts courthouse, at the corner of Madison Avenue and 25th Street. It was built between 1896 and 1899, designed by James Brown Lord in an Italian Renaissance Revival style incorporating tall columns, a high base and flat walls. A team of 16 sculptors, led by Daniel Chester French (known for his iconic Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.), created an awesome display of metaphoric figures. But it is Frederick Wellington Ruckstull’s two masterful works that sit as though guarding the steps leading to the entrance that intently capture my interest every time. Ruckstull titled one Force, as it dons armor resembling a Roman Centurion. The other, Wisdom, has stern features reminiscent of Moses, with a giant book open to extra-large pages on his lap.
I frequently pass by this architectural anomaly so reminiscent of Rome. I always stare admiringly at the impressive statues. Yet until yesterday I failed to notice the inscription on Wisdom, which is particularly apt given the current wave of Executive Orders streaming from the Oval Office. The wisdom of issuing so many decrees is questionable at best and “a menace” at worst. Yet seeing the phrase “Every Law Not Based on WISDOM is a Menace to the State” gives me a modicum of hope that wisdom will eventually prevail.
