Through my Eyes

By Kelso

Double Check

I saw this sculpture today and was very moved by it and the story behind it.

"The life-sized bronze titled 'Double Check' was created in 1982 by Seward Johnson. The artist loaned it to Merrill Lynch to be displayed in Liberty Plaza Park in the Financial District. Johnson’s businessman sits on a bench, sifting through his briefcase to make sure he has everything in preparation for a meeting. For nearly two decades it delighted tourists and made frenzied stock brokers and bankers smile.

And then came September 11, 2001.

When the World Trade Towers came down, plunging New York and the country into mourning and disbelief, grey ash covered the ruins of Liberty Park. As the clouds of debris cleared and emergency responders flooded into the area, some mistook the statue for a dazed survivor.
In the following days and weeks, “Double Check” became a symbol of the World Trade Tower victims, murdered for simply going to work. The statue represented the common, working guy in a suit who died trying to make a living for his family. Candles, flowers and notes were left by the sculpture."

From: http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2012/03/john-seward-johnson-iis-double-check.html?m=1

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