“It occurred to me to sculpt a bull, the image of the growing Stock Market: it was meant to be a joke, a provocation. But instead it turned into something very serious. I was told that, after the Statue of Liberty, the Charging Bull in Bowling Green, a two-step walk from the temple of world finance, is the most visited monument in New York.”
A permanent fixture now synonymous with the ruthless power of financial institutions, Arturo Di Modica’s Charging Bull was first designed to be “a symbol of universal optimism.” In response to the Black Monday stock market crash of 1987, Di Modica wanted to give the country what he considered a “get-well present,” which materialized as a three-ton bronze bull sculpture. In December of 1989, during the still hours of the night, the artist installed Charging Bull under the Christmas tree that stood before the New York Stock Exchange. Yet, with no real permit, the sculpture was swiftly trucked to a police warehouse in Queens the following day. Following an unprecedented display of public outcry in response to its removal, the bull was instantly immortalized as an icon. Shortly thereafter, it was restored to its now permanent location at nearby Bowling Green.
This example of Charging Bull, executed in 1987, is the prototype and first edition of the indomitable sixteen-foot-long bronze sculpture in New York City’s Financial District. It was through the private sale of this work-prototype–an edition of ten–that Di Modica was able to finance his tremendous gift to the city.