The sculpture is in the
Art Deco style of Rockefeller Center. The figure of Atlas in the sculpture is 15 feet (4.6 m) tall, while the entire statue is 45 feet (14 m) tall.[14][15] It weighs 14,000 pounds (6,400 kg),[16] and is the largest sculpture at Rockefeller Center.[17]
Atlas is depicted carrying the celestial vault on his shoulders.[1][2][18] The north–south axis of the
armillary sphere on his shoulders points towards the
North Star's position relative to New York City.[19] The statue stands on one muscular leg atop a small stone pedestal, whose corner faces Fifth Avenue.[2]
In popular culture
The piece has since been appropriated as a symbol of the
Objectivist movement[20] and has been associated with
Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged (1957).
It has been featured in almost every episode of the television series 30 Rock, appearing in numerous
establishing shots depicting the
30 Rockefeller Plaza building, where the series is set. Most
Rainforest Cafe locations have a statue resembling this one in a waterfall with a fountain, with the words "Rescue the Rainforest" in green neon letters across the equator of the globe.[21]
^"John Polachek, An Industrialist"(PDF). The New York Times. Obituaries. 18 April 1955. p. 22. Retrieved 18 December 2023. In 1903, he became a supervisor of bronze manufacturing for Tiffany Studios. Founder of General Bronze Corporation Dies – Products Adorn Leading Buildings