AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
- The "Fearless Girl" statue, a symbol of female can-do business spirit, has been removed from her spot opposite Wall Street's "Charging Bull."
- The statue will move to a location in front of the New York Stock Exchange by the end of this year, said officials.
- State Street Global Advisors placed the statue opposite Wall Street's iconic "Charging Bull" statue in March 2017 as part of its campaign to pressure companies to add more women to their boards.
- New York City extended the temporary installation permit of the girl until this year, upsetting the sculptor of the "Charging Bull."
The "Fearless Girl" statue, a symbol of female can-do business spirit, has been plucked from her spot opposite Wall Street's "Charging Bull" and is on the move to its new home in front of the New York Stock Exchange, officials said Wednesday.
The sculpture of a defiant-looking young girl has been removed from her original location at Bowling Green in preparation for her reinstallation, said State Street Global Advisors, the world's third-largest asset manager that installed the statue last year.
The statue hasn't been relocated to its new location yet, but will be there by the end of the year, State Street said.
On the eve of International Women's Day 2017, the Boston-based financial-services firm placed the bronze girl statue in front of Wall Street's iconic "Charging Bull" statue as part of its campaign to pressure companies to add more women to their boards.
The "Fearless Girl" was installed with a temporary permit by New York City, but was so popular that the public successfully petitioned the city's officials to extend the permit through 2018.
At that time, Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor of Wall Street's "Charging Bull" was mad about the decision to extend the temporary installation permit.
"Women, girls, that's great, but that's not what that (my sculpture) is," he said. "I put it there for art. My bull is a symbol for America. My bull is a symbol of prosperity and for strength."
Ironically, Modica did the same thing back in 1989, when he installed his "Charging Bull" in front of the New York Stock Exchange without a permit. The sculpture was impounded by the city but the public appeal it generated forced officials to bring it back, just two blocks farther south from where Di Modica had originally placed it.
In April, the mayor's office said that the statue's post outside of the New York Stock Exchange would be its "long-term" home. Mayor Bill De Blasio called the statue "a powerful symbol of the need for change at the highest levels of corporate America" and "a durable part of our city's civic life."
A plaque with two footsteps marks the girl's former spot in the heart of New York City's Financial District. "Fearless Girl is on the move to The New York Stock Exchange," the plaque reads. "Until she's there, stand for her."
"While Fearless Girl is preparing to move to her new home, we encourage the public to visit Bowling Green and #StandForHer to keep her powerful message going strong," said State Street.