The story of Maria Pulsone and her statue is a heartwarming tale of rediscovery and honor within the Italian American community. And soon it will be part of the exhibit at the Italian American Museum.
Maria, a master seamstress in New York’s Garment District, was once commemorated by her employer with a plaster sculpture for her exceptional craftsmanship. She was known as a “master seamstress” at that time, and her employer of several decades, Saint Laurie, had commissioned the statue in 1984.
Maria recalls that posing for the plaster life-size statue required a sitting of several hours and she had to wear a face mask with straws in her nose to breathe.
This statue, a symbol of dedication and skill, stood proudly in the lobby of the building where she worked, only to later disappear as part of the endless changes that are part of a dynamic city like New York.
Her granddaughter, Jennifer said that growing up, she always knew that her grandmother had a statue that rested in the lobby of the Broadway building where she worked. Always curious to know where it had ended up, she took her husband’s suggestion that they try to track it down late last year. “I said, ‘It’s going to be nearly impossible to find this thing.’ But with a quick Google search of ‘woman’s sewing statue,’ it just popped up. It was for sale in a warehouse in Scranton, Pa.,” she said.
Amazed at her luck, Jennifer paid the $600 price tag, but then faced the problem of where to put it. “We live in New York City; we’re not going to put it in our apartment. My grandma lives in Queens. She’s not going to put it in her backyard,” Pulsone said. “We were like, ‘Where are we putting this thing?’”
The solution was obvious: she learned that the Italian American Museum was planning to reopen this summer and contacted them. They immediately accepted, no doubt realizing what a treasure this would be for their exhibition about the garment district.
After five years of being shuttered, the museum at 151 Mulberry Street is scheduled to reopen in late July or early August pending building permits. Its remodeling has been a $7.5 million investment, Dr. Joseph Scelsa, its co-founder and president, said.
The reunion of the statue and the Pulsone family was not just a personal triumph for Maria, who at 95 years old relived a moment in her youth and the satisfaction of having been acknowledged for her extraordinary skill, but also a celebration of the contributions of Italian American immigrants to the New York melting pot. The statue’s presence in the museum will serve as a testament to the hard work and perseverance of countless individuals like Maria who came to America seeking a better life and, through their talents and determination, enriched the communities they joined.
Maria’s story, encapsulated in the statue, echoes the experiences of many Italian American immigrants and offers a tangible connection to the past.
The statue’s journey from a beloved workplace tribute to a long-lost artifact, and finally to a cherished museum piece, mirrors the challenging journey of many immigrants—filled with challenges, loss but frequently a fulfillment of their fondest wishes and desires.
“She’s the face to a time period when [thousands of] Italian immigrants moved to this country, were working hard and trying to live out an American dream to create better lives for themselves and their families,” Jennifer Pulsone said. “Today that is still the case. People are trying to come to this country, get in here and achieve those kinds of dreams.”
