In the fall of 2023, 80 years after its publication at the height of World War II, Le Petit Prince will return to New York City. A sculpture of the blond boy, beloved by readers in more than 500 languages and dialects, will be installed in front of Villa Albertine on Fifth Avenue, across from the Metropolitan Museum.

This project by French artist Jean-Marc de Pas was spearheaded by the American Society of Le Souvenir Francais and carried out in partnership and with the support of the Antoine de Saint Exupery Youth Foundation.

Although this whimsical traveler is widely known and loved, few are aware that Antoine de Saint-Exupery conjured the Little Prince into existence in 1943 while in New York City and Long Island, which he left just days before publication.

From there, Saint-Exupery sailed to North Africa with an advance copy in his bag; fifteen months later, he disappeared over the Mediterranean while at the controls of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning during a reconnaissance mission for the U.S. Air Force.

Dozens of plaques and statues around the world commemorate the novelist, but there is no such monument in Manhattan – yet. Fittingly, the sculpture of the Little Prince will be installed near the front entrance of Villa Albertine’s headquarters, accessible to passers-by of all ages and backgrounds.