For nearly 100 years, a seven-foot-tall bronze statue Philippe Schuylera prominent figure in early America, better known today as Alexander Hamilton’s father-in-law, stood in front of Albany City Hall until now.
This month, the monument, sculptor of Scottish origin Jean Massey Rhindwas removed and stored because Schuyler, in addition to being a U.S. senator and Revolutionary War general, owned slaves.
Schuyler would likely have faded into obscurity, but the 2015 release of Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit musical hamilton featured him as an important, albeit offstage, figure: the wealthy and powerful father of the main character’s wife, Eliza Schuyler, and her sisters.
The piece brought attention to the statue, drawing fans posing for selfies, but it also opened up Schuyler to closer scrutiny, helping to publicize his documented ties to slavery.
The family’s slavery dates back to Schuyler’s great-grandfather Philippe Pieterse Schuylerwho had immigrated to Albany from the Netherlands around 1650. Construction workers had discovered an unmarked cemetery with the remains of slaves, now known as the Schuyler Flatts Cemeteryon the former Schuyler property in 2005.
THE Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site includes exhibits about some of the enslaved members of the household, including Schuyler’s butler and a woman who fled the estate in search of freedom. The museum estimates that Schuyler enslaved about 40 people.
wallet), Creative Commons License Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.” width=”1024″ height=”740″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Schuyler_Mansion_Panorama_Left-1024×740.jpg 1024w, https://news.artnet. com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Schuyler_Mansion_Panorama_Left-300×217.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Schuyler_Mansion_Panorama_Left-1536×1111.jpg 1536w, https:// news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Schuyler_Mansion_Panorama_Left-2048×1481.jpg 2048w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Schuyler_Mansion_Panorama_Left-50×36.jpg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Schuyler_Mansion_Panorama_Left-1920×1388.jpg 1920w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”/>
The Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York (2011). picture by Matt H.Wade, @thatmattwade (wallet), Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
In June 2020, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan released a Executive Decree to remove the statue of Schuyler, stating that “the city of Albany has long grappled with its history of racism and inequality, the origins of which can be traced back to colonial-era slave owners such as Philip Schuyler.”
At the time, the murder of George Floyd had triggered nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. The Black Lives Matter movement has also spawned a generalized calculus surrounding the problematic legacies historical figures honored in public places, particularly from Confederate leaders. Since 2020, important Statues of Robert E. Lee have been deleted streets of many cities, including Charlotteville, RoanokeAnd richmondVirginia.
Such initiatives have proven controversial, sometimes prompting protracted legal challenges. Florida has enacted a law that defacing or damaging Confederate monuments a felony in 2021. Likewise, Schuyler’s ousting was not without criticism, due to his significance in Albany’s history.
“Can you imagine Boston turning its back on Sam Adams or Virginia denying Thomas Jefferson?” Jeff Perlee, a Republican in the Albany County Legislature, told the New York Times. “I think the rulers of these places are sophisticated enough to understand the historical context and the full extent of the negative attributes and characteristics of historical figures. And sadly, Albany’s leaders don’t.
Taking down the statue, which cost $40,000, according to the Times Union, “was trying to erase history,” wrote Rep. Elise Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. Twitter.
“I understand people’s strong feelings about this and these decisions are never easy,” Sheehan told the Union Times. “While he is a person who did great things in history and is rightly remembered for all his incredible accomplishments, he is also a man who enslaved dozens of ‘African Americans. We need to understand how we contextualize this and tell the whole story.
The city plans to find a new place to display the statue in a museum or institution, where it can be displayed in the context of both Schuyler’s accomplishments and his role in slavery.
Sheehan proposed creating an Albany Monument Commission to determine the work’s new home, which could be the city’s Academy Park.
Workers discovered a time capsule inside its base while uninstalling the room, the contents of which are currently under investigation at the Albany Institute of History and Art.
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