New York State Flag

New York State Flag - Wikipedia Commons

The New York State Flag depicts the New York Coat of Arms on a field of navy blue. According to the New York Department of State:

The arms of New York State were officially adopted in 1778. The center shows a ship and sloop on a river bordered by a grassy shore and a mountain range with the sun rising behind it. Liberty and Justice stand on either side, under an American eagle.

Liberty holds a staff topped with a Phrygian cap, symbolic of the cap given to a Roman slave upon the formal act of emancipation and freedom. This cap was adopted by French revolutionists as a symbol of liberty, especially in the U.S. before 1800. The figure of Justice is blindfolded and carries a sword in one hand and scales in the other. These symbols represent the impartiality and fairness required for the assignment of a merited reward or punishment. The banner shows the State motto–Excelsior–which means “Ever Upward.”

The coat of arms of the State flag was adopted in 1778.
The present New York State Flag is a modern version of a Revolutionary War Flag.
The original flag is at the Albany Institute of History and Art.
The legislature changed the field from buff to blue by a law enacted on April 2, 1901.