Monday, July 07, 2003

Yesterday's Hero Rogues Gallery: Collecting Despots & Assassins

Wonder where those garish statues of former dictators end up? Nearly 20 statues of leaders and heroes of authoritarian regimes occupy the rolling private garden of Harlan R. Crow, a Dallas real estate investor. Heavyweights like Stalin, Mao and Lenin stand among lesser-knowns like Klement Gottwald, the first Communist president of Czechoslovakia. Many of the statues, some as tall as 20 feet, were bought from the sculptors or from public officials as regimes crumbled. A few, like the large bust of Princip, were acquired as bullets whizzed by.
· [The New York Times 07/02/03] [ Registration required USER: ajreader; PASSWORD: access]