New YorkTimes Obituary: Tony Rosenthal, A Sculptor of Public Art: 7/31/09
Tony Rosenthal, the Sculptor of Public Art, best known for creating Alamo, one of 5 Tony Rosenthal Public Sculptures on permanent display in New York City, died on July 28, 2009 in Southhampton, NY, in the arms of his Wife, Cynthia.

The New York Times Obituary by William Grimes is a tribute to this Important Sculptor of Public Art, who was also my good friend whom I will dearly miss.
According to his New York Times Obituary, "In sheer visibility, Mr. Rosenthal occupied a leading place among contemporary artists."

"His five works of public sculpture in Manhattan, and dozens of similar works in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and other cities, guaranteed him a vast audience every week, yet he remained, if not obscure, much less than famous."

“He reminds me of a character actor,” said Joseph K. Levene, Mr. Rosenthal's Agent told the New York Times. “You know the face but not the name. With him, you know the art.”

He was best known for “Alamo,” familiarly called “The Cube” and a neighborhood favorite since it was installed in 1967 as part of the city’s “Sculpture in Environment” program. All 25 works in the program were intended to be temporary installations, but after residents in the Astor Place area petitioned the city, “Alamo” stayed.

A 15-foot-square cube, made of Cor-Ten steel plates, it stands on one point and revolves on a pedestal, which has endeared it to students at nearby Cooper Union, skateboarders who rally around it and East Village tourists."In 1960, as his style turned to geometric abstraction, he moved to New York and began showing with the dealer Sam Kootz, who persuaded him to use his nickname, Tony, professionally. He was later represented by Knoedler and André Emmerich. In 2001 he moved to Southampton."

Mr. Rosenthal exhibited all over the world. In 1999 Rizzoli published the Sam Hunter Monograph about his work, “Tony Rosenthal,” with a forward by Edward Albee.
A hard-working and prolific artist into his 90s, he found that one honor eluded him.

“He never had a retrospective, but that’s all right,” Mr. Levene said. “He has one every day on the streets of New York.

Tony Rosenthal Sculptures Featured in Ralph Lauren Flagship Store Windows, New York City

According to the New York Post, construction on a long-promised pedestrian plaza at Astor Place and Cooper Square could begin by next summer after proceeding at a crawl for decades.

The new open space, which will appeal to the neighborhood's students, skateboarders and the growing latte-drinking yuppie population - will double the car-free area at the iconic crossroads that mark the gateway to the East Village

Accoding to the New York Post, Tony Rosenthal's famous Cube Cor-Ten Steel Sculpture, Alamo, 1967, will remwill improve the neighborhood by calming traffic, enhancing pedestrian safety and beautifying the streets and public spaces," said New York City Department of Transportation ain as the centerpiece of the plan. "This project spokesman Scott Gastel.

Tony Rosenthal 1960 Brass Sculpture Included in Grey Art Gallery Exhibition
Tony Rosenthal 1960 Sculpture, Commissioned by the University in 1960, is included in New York Cool at NYU, April 22-July 19, 2008. Mr. Rosenthal was one of five Sculptors invited to submit models for a relief to adorn NYU’s Loeb Student Center. Tony Rosenthal produced the Exhibited Sculpture, titled Brass Sketch, which did not win the commission.

Its composition of uneven, abstract rectangular strips with alternating ridges and cavities suggests a link to the elaborate wood-carved altarpieces of the Northern Renaissance, with their rows of deeply undercut figures. By this time, Mr. Rosenthal was also making streamlined cubes, columns, and cylinders with hard-edged trenches and craters cut into their surfaces.