Atlas at Rockefeller Center - New York City

The Atlas statue at Rockefeller Center’s International Building is one of the most important Art Deco sculptures in New York.

It was created in 1937 by sculptor Lee Lawrie (1877-1963,) with modeling assistance from Rene Chambellan (1893-1955.) It’s a massive bronze figure of the Titan Atlas, shown standing and straining under the weight of the heavens. The “heavens” are represented as a large armillary sphere (a ringed celestial globe,) detailed with zodiac signs and astronomical markings. The axis is oriented so it aligns with the North Star as seen from New York.

Atlas himself is 15 feet tall, and the entire work, including the pedestal, stands 45 feet tall, making it one of the largest sculptures in the Rockefeller Center complex. Its placement is very deliberate - in front of the International Building at 630 Fifth Avenue, directly facing St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The building wings frame it, so it functions as a kind of mythological “threshold figure” for the complex.

The style is fully Art Deco, with muscular idealization of the human body, the geometric precision of the armillary sphere, and the monumental scale integrated with the architecture.