New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday, September 19, that a new statue honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be erected in Brooklyn, her birthplace.
Ginsburg, an admired figure for many, died Friday, September 18, at age 87. The governor will appoint a commission in the coming days to select an artist and choose a location for the statue.
“While the family of New York mourns Justice Ginsburg’s death, we remember proudly that she started her incredible journey right here in Brooklyn,” Cuomo said. He continued:
Her legacy will live on in the progress she created for our society, and this statue will serve as a physical reminder of her many contributions to the America we know today and as an inspiration for those who will continue to build on her immense body of work for generations to come.
Ginsburg became the second woman to serve on the US Supreme Court in 1993. She was celebrated as a champion of gender equality and women’s rights. She was also known for her love for the arts, especially opera. Earlier this year, while battling metastatic cancer of the pancreas, she visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC to see the exhibition Degas at the Opéra.
According to Washingtonian, Ginsburg decorated her chambers with works on loan from the Smithsonian, including paintings by Mark Rothko, Max Weber, and Josef Albers. Art, Ginsburg told the newspaper in an interview, “makes life beautiful.”
