This paper traces the commissioning process for New York City’s Women’s Rights Pioneer Monument as a case study for the current, highly contentious politics of monument-building. The Central Park statue — as of this writing, not yet realized — has followed a protracted, frequently contested path since its conception in 2015. It was designed to depict women’s rights activists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton for the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19 th amendment. What began as a well-intentioned and initially well-received initiative to correct the gender imbalance in the city’s public art became mired in controversy amidst the politically charged atmosphere of the election of Donald Trump to the United States presidency. Critics charged that by not including an African American woman, the statue whitewashed the history of women’s suffrage. The statue, now deemed racist by its detractors, became a battleground over issues of gender, race, politics and public representation.