Domesticated birds of prey such as falcons, hawks and eagles can be trained to locate prey for human owners. Falconers train their namesake bird while austringers train hawks and eagles. Red-tailed hawks and peregrine falcons, both found in New York City, are used in these pursuits; ancient Mongolians and Mesopotamians were avid falconers. Surprisingly the ancient Romans did not participate and took up falconry only after the Germanic tribes introduced it in the 5th Century while they were making increased inroads in the Empire. Before the invention of gunpowder falconry was a prime method of locating food in the wild, and the practice became widespread in Europe, reaching a peak in the 1600s. Falconry is still pursued enthusiastically by lovers of wildlife and birds of prey.
George Blackall Simonds (1844-1929)’ bronze The Falconer stands on an outcropping of Manhattan schist on Terrace Drive near the center of Central Park, just south of Cherry Hill and west of the Bethesda Fountain. It was dedicated in 1887. Sculptor Simonds was heir to a British brewing fortune and showed early promise in the pursuit of sculpting, studying in Germany, Belgium and Italy. Simonds himself was an avid outdoorsman and falconer. Central Park’s statue is a replica of an original that is found in Trieste, Italy. There, it was noticed by Irish-American businessman George Kemp, who lobbied for its placement in Central Park.
The Falconer has had to have extensive repairs over the last 130+ years. The falcon itself was replaced in 1957. In the 1960s and 70s, vandalism was a scourge in Central Park and the sculpture lost both its arm and again, the falcon. By 1982 both had been replaced. The most recent renovation was in 1997 when the statue was rebronzed.
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9/7/18
3 comments
Falconry requires trust. Training a falcon takes considerable time and money, and there’s nothing to stop a bird from flying off and not returning. In fact that sometimes happens.
In parts of central and eastern Europe people take falconry a step further, training eagles to catch small deer.
Flying with your falcon….
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/falcons-planes-middle-east/index.html
For some reason I don’t ever remember walking by this statue at all in Central Park, and I have been by the Bethesda Fountain numerous times.