Wender·Vista
Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn arch
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York
at the main entrance to Prospect Park

Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn arch

— — the city's triumphal arch, with horses in the sky.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch stands where Flatbush Avenue, Eastern Parkway, and Prospect Park West converge. Eighty feet of granite, raised in 1892 for the Union dead. MacMonnies' bronze quadriga rides the cornice — four horses, a winged figure, all wind. Walk under it on a Saturday morning and the farmers' market is already setting up in the oval below.

from the studio
Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn arch
— bring it home

Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn arch, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn arch

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The arch rises at Grand Army Plaza, the oval that anchors Prospect Park's northern edge in Brooklyn. Architect John H. Duncan, who later designed Grant's Tomb, won the 1888 commission, and the arch was dedicated in 1892 to the Union defenders of the Civil War. The plaza itself was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the 1860s as the ceremonial approach to the park. Today it sits at the meeting of Flatbush Avenue, Eastern Parkway, Prospect Park West, and Vanderbilt Avenue, with the Brooklyn Public Library a short walk east.

— the stone

The arch is built of Hallowell granite from Maine, eighty feet high and eighty wide, with a single arched opening flanked by deep piers. Frederick MacMonnies added the bronze sculpture between 1894 and 1901: the quadriga on the attic, with its winged Columbia and four horses; the Army and Navy groups on the south face; and inside the arch, equestrian reliefs of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant by Thomas Eakins and William O'Donovan. The interior staircases are opened to the public on rare occasions by the Prospect Park Alliance.

— the visit

The plaza sits at the top of Prospect Park, reached by the 2 or 3 train to Grand Army Plaza station, a block from the arch. The Greenmarket runs Saturdays in the southern half of the oval. Nearby sights include the Brooklyn Public Library's central branch, the Brooklyn Museum a few blocks east along Eastern Parkway, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden beyond. The arch itself is free and always visible from the plaza; interior tours occur a few weekends each year and are announced by the Prospect Park Alliance.

— where
United States · Brooklyn, New York
— within
Prospect Park
— position
40.6727° N · 73.9700° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Prospect Park
Olmsted and Vaux park
at the lake
Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch
Art Deco library
1 km E
Brooklyn Museum
Beaux-Arts museum
1 km E
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
botanic garden
N
Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn arch
Prospect Park
Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn arch — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

John H. Duncan, the architect behind Grant's Tomb, designed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch in 1888; it was dedicated in 1892. The bronze sculpture was added later by Frederick MacMonnies.

The quadriga shows a winged figure of Columbia driving four horses, flanked by trumpeting victories. MacMonnies modelled the group in Paris between 1894 and 1898; it commemorates the Union victory in the Civil War.

Grand Army refers to the Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans' organisation of Union soldiers from the American Civil War. The plaza was renamed in their honour after the arch was dedicated.

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux laid out the oval in the 1860s as the formal northern entrance to Prospect Park, their second great Brooklyn landscape after the park itself.

The interior staircases lead to a small chamber and the roof. The Prospect Park Alliance opens them to the public a handful of weekends each year; tour dates are posted on their website.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers have given it to friends who grew up around Prospect Park or live along Eastern Parkway. The arch is a daily landmark for them. A Medium or Large carries well.

The deep stained-glass blues and granite tones suit Brooklyn brownstone interiors, jewel-tone Maximalist rooms, and Eclectic Traditional. Hang it near dark wood or warm plaster for the strongest read.

A single Large reads well over a console. Above a standard sofa, a four-tile Mural balances the wall; a nine-tile Mural is right for longer sectionals or wide entryways.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splash; the colour is infused into the ceramic surface, so it will not lift over time.

A microfibre cloth and water are enough for ordinary dust. For kitchen or bath installations, a non-abrasive household cleaner works on the Dura Satin and Matte finishes without dulling them.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted by Reid Wender in our Knoxville studio. We do not licence outside artwork; the entire atlas is one curator's eye.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.