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Group of Bears

Group of Bears is a sculpture by Paul Manship. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a bronze version cast in 1933 from a 1932 sculpture; it measures 88 x 72 x 56 inches. Other casts and versions appear in several public locations, including the Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground in Central Park, where a bronze cast made in 1960 was unveiled on October 11, 1990. The work also appears on the William Church Osborn Gates at Central Park, the Paul J. Rainey Memorial Gates at the Bronx Zoo, in Compton Gardens in Bentonville, Arkansas, and in Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

Group of Bears sculpture with three bear figures on a decorative base in a park.
Group of Bears by Paul Manship, showing three bear figures on a decorative base in an outdoor park setting.
January 2006 © · CC BY 2.0
Group of Bears sculpture with three bronze bears on a tiered base in Central Park.
Group of Bears by Paul Manship in Central Park, showing three stylized bronze bears on a stepped base.
April 2010 © Sculpture by Paul Manship; I took this photograph. · Public domain
Group of Bears sculpture with a tall bear flanked by two smaller bears on a stepped base.
Paul Manship’s Group of Bears sculpture displayed outdoors on a stepped base.
April 2023 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Group of Bears sculpture in Central Park, showing a bronze bear standing upright with two bears below it.
Group of Bears by Paul Manship in Central Park, with three bronze bears set in a sunny park scene.
April 2010 © Sculpture by Paul Manship; I took this photograph. · Public domain

Identification

Typesculpture
TitleGroup of Bears

Creator

ArtistPaul Manship

Materials

Materialbronze

Physical characteristics

Dimensions88 x 72 x 56 inches

Discovery and provenance

Paul J. Rainey Memorial Gates versionfeatured on the Paul J. Rainey Memorial Gates (1933) at the Bronx Zoo
Jerusalem Biblical Zoo versionanother cast in Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
Compton Gardens versionanother cast from 2008 in Compton Gardens, Bentonville, Arkansas
William Church Osborn Gates versionfeatured on part of the William Church Osborn Gates (1952) at Central Park
Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground versionbronze sculpture at Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground, Central Park, Fifth Avenue and 79th Street, cast in 1960, unveiled on October 11, 1990
Metropolitan Museum of Art version1932 bronze sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, cast in 1933

Location and ownership

CollectionMetropolitan Museum of Art
LocationPat Hoffman Friedman Playground, Central Park, Fifth Avenue and 79th Street

History and restoration

Multiple versionsyes
First versions presented byWilliam Church Osborn Gates (1952) and Paul J. Rainey Memorial Gates (1933)
First version locationBronx Zoo
Latest version date2008
Latest version locationCompton Gardens, Bentonville, Arkansas