Landmark
The Rockefeller Center
Atlas and the surrounding Art Deco programme remain among Lawrie’s most recognized works.
Archive article
The Rockefeller Center
New York City · 1930s
In the early 1930s, the Rockefeller family began a new commercial and cultural centre in New York City. Guided by architect Raymond Hood, the project became one of the era’s largest private-sector job programmes during the Great Depression.
Lee Lawrie shaped much of its sculptural identity, from Atlas and Wisdom to the International Building’s figures and the decorative programmes woven throughout the complex.
The Rockefeller Center · New York City
Sculpture across the centre
An August 1, 1933 letter to Lee Lawrie approves a final inscription for the entrance relief. Its wording differs from the inscription ultimately placed above the main entrance to 30 Rockefeller Plaza.