The Little Prince statue, unveiled September 16, 2006 in the courtyard of the Northport Public Library, commemorates the internationally loved classic by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Born in 1900, French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry lived in the Bevin House on Northport’s Eaton’s Neck during 1942. It was there that he completed The Little Prince. Along with this classic, Saint-Exupéry’s work includes novels and memoirs drawn from his experiences as a pilot and several posthumously published collections of essays and other writings.
In 1944 Saint-Exupéry disappeared while on a wartime reconnaissance flight. The wreckage of his airplane was recovered from the Mediterranean Sea near Marseille in 2004. The plan to create a sculpture of The Little Prince in the new outdoor courtyard of the Northport Library was originally proposed in 2004 by Yvette Cariou O’Brien, a longtime resident of Northport, who is the official representative of the Espace Saint-Exupéry in the United States. Mrs. O’Brien’s imagination, perseverance, and devoted fundraising efforts, along with private contributions from generous community members, made this project possible. $20,000 was raised to create a 4-foot high bronze statue of The Little Prince in his princely attire, modeled from one of Saint-Exupery’s illustrations.
The Northport-East Northport Public Library wishes to thank Yvette Cariou O’Brien for her vision and the family of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry for their permission to create this historic addition to the Library courtyard and landscape.
If you would like to learn more about The Little Prince and its local connection to author
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry by clicking here.