Sculptor Arturo Di Modica, author of the famous …

The Sicilian sculptor Arturo Di Modica, author of the famous symbol of the bronze bull of Wall Street in New York, died at the age of 80 after a long battle with cancer.

The artist, whose state of health had worsened in recent weeks, died this Friday evening at his home in Vittoria near Ragusa, in the south of the island of Sicily, the newspaper La Repubblica reported on Saturday.

The Italian-American sculptor became famous primarily for his imposing 3.2-ton bronze bull sculpture, 4.9 meters long and 3 meters high, located near the New York Stock Exchange.

The sculpture, called “Charging Bull”, was sculpted and funded by the artist, who spent over $ 350,000 to illegally install it in front of the New York Stock Exchange after the 1987 stock market crash. as a symbol of “the strength and power of the people”.

Di Modica transported the sculpture in a truck in December 1989 to Lower Manhattan and left it under a Christmas tree in front of the New York Stock Exchange, as a Christmas present for New Yorkers.

After several weeks of disputes, the bull was finally accepted and located in 1989 north of Bowling Green Park at the intersection of Broadway, where it is currently located.

The “Charging Bull” is one of New York’s most photographed works and according to the legend created around it, scratching the muzzle, catching its horns or testicles brings good luck.