WELCOME to the “Hermon A. MacNeil” — Virtual Gallery & Museum !
~ This Gallery celebrates Hermon Atkins MacNeil, American sculptor of the Beaux Arts School. MacNeil led a generation of sculptors in capturing many fading Native American images and American history in the realism of this classic style.
~ World’s Fairs, statues, public monuments, coins, and buildings across to country. Hot-links (on the lower right) lead to photos & info of works by MacNeil.
~ Hundreds of stories and photos posted here form this virtual MacNeil Gallery of works all across the U.S.A. New York to New Mexico — Oregon to South Carolina.
~ 2016 marked the 150th Anniversary of Hermon MacNeil’s birth on February 27,
Take a Virtual Journey
Since 2010 this website has transported viewers through the years and miles between 100’s of Hermon MacNeil’s statues & monuments throughout the USA.
For over one hundred years these sculptures have graced our parks, boulevards, and parkways; buildings, memorials, and gardens; campuses, capitols, and civic centers; museums, coinage, and private collections.
PERHAPS, you walk or drive by one of his public sculptures daily. HERE, you can gain awareness of this great sculptor and his many works. Maybe there are some near you! CHECK HERE!
100 years after the birth of Hermon MacNeil and fifty years after the Standing Liberty Quarter was minted, Doris Docsher Baum appeared on the TV quiz show “I’ve Got a Secret” on April 4, 1966.
Miss Doscher also was the model for Hermon MacNeil’s “Angel of Peace”, a statue in front the War Memorial at the Flushing Armory, on Northern Boulevard, Flushing, NYC. To Read more about Doris Doscher see Wikipedia (Click HERE).
World War I Memorial – Flushing, New York by H. A. MacNeil
“Forgotten NY” offers these two descriptions:
The original Penn Station (1910-1964) was built from beautiful pink marble similar in appearance to what can be found at Hermon MacNeil‘s World War I memorial bearing the names of Flushing’s dead in that conflict. MacNeil, a College Point resident, also designed the “Standing Liberty” quarter (the predecessor to today’s Washington Quarter), the Marquette Memorial in Chicago, and 4 busts in the Hall of Fame of for Great Americans, among many other works.
The traditional Roman fasces consisted of a bundle of birch rods tied together with a red ribbon as a cylinder around an axe. Though adopted by Italian fascism in the early 20th Century, the symbol seems to have avoided the stigma that the swastika acquired after its adoption by the Nazis.
Doris Doscher (Baum) modeled for Karl Bitter’s Abundance in the Pulitzer Fountain at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
Doris Doscher was also model for Karl Bitter’s Abundance in the Pulitzer Fountain at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
TWO MODELS FOR STANDING LIBERTY QUARTER? Jay Cline, author of Standing Liberty Quarters, documents in Chapter Five of his book that MacNeil used two , “Miss Liberty Models.” He offers some details of MacNeil history not seen before.
Cline gives a discussion, photos, and documentation of the two women who served as models for the MacNeil’s art, namely Doris Doscher and Irene MacDowell. I had not known that Doris Doscher (Baum) went public with her role in the SLQ on the TV show “I’ve Got A Secret” (or click HERE for second link).
Long Island Star-Journal, March 14, 1966 Article on Doris Doscher Baum (SLQ model) and John E. Troesh (Marquette model).
Finishing touches clean the marble niche where MacNeil’s Lincoln bust will greet Illini students in Lincoln Hall
A 1958 photo of lawyer Abe Lincoln (with NO beard) as he appeared at the time of the debates with Senator Stephen Douglas and as MacNeil portrayed him.
Hermon MacNeil’s bronze bust of self-educated Illinois Lawyer Abe Lincoln was returned to its gloriously restored niche in Lincoln Hall on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana to begin its second century on the Illinois Circuit of higher education.
MacNeil’s standing Lincoln model from the Smithsonian Institute photo archives. The piece was made for a commission competition after 1906.
MacNeil originally sculpted a full length, standing model of the Illinois Lawyer that he later re-sculpted as a bust. From that piece he had Roman Bronze Works make eight castings of his Lincoln Lawyer. In 1928 at the recommendation of Lorado Taft, the University of Illinois purchased this one of the MacNeil sculptures of the younger Lincoln.
In 1929, MacNeil’s work provided an iconic centerpiece for the Grand Stairway foyer of newly designed building. On February 12, 2012, the restored bust was returned to its original niche, in the beautifully renovated Lincoln Hall.
PHOTOS and MORE: The lead photo above and three photos below are from the website of the Lincoln Hall Renovation (CLICK HERE) project at the University of Illinois. They show the re-installation of MacNeil’s work. The University has now completed the $66.4 million dollar restoration (Fact Sheet) of Lincoln Hall. [SEE MORE MacNeil-Lincoln history below the photos]:
MacNeil’s restored bust of young Abe Lincoln was bolted to a marble plate that could be cemented into place.
The work crew of masons set the MacNeil’s Lincoln bust back into the niche at the Grand Staircase of Lincoln Hall
A worker sweeps the marble stairs of Lincoln Hall foyer as photographers get set to record the return of Hermon MacNeil’s bust of young Lawyer Abe Lincoln to its perch where a second century of Illini students will pass by.
Art and museum records locate four of MacNeil’s eight “Lincoln Lawyer” castings. the others “Lincoln Lawyer” busts by MacNeil appear incomplete as follows:
The fact that MacNeil made a “Lincoln Lawyer” statue was catalogued 60 years ago, along with the Lincoln likenesses sculpted by over 125 other sculptors. Donald Charles Durman assembled a “List of Sculptures of Abraham Lincoln” in his 1951 book, “He Belongs to the Ages: The Statues of Abraham Lincoln” (published by Edwards Brothers, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1951). The Smithsonian American Art Museum inventory lists only 3 locations of MacNeil’s other Lincoln busts. The University of Illinois bust of Lincoln is NOT listed among them. Thus, four of the eight are documented publicly. The Smithsonian records indicate the following listings:
University of Pennsylvania, Office of the Curator, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Control_Number: 77001611
Beloit College, Wright Museum of Art, Beloit, Wisconsin – Control_Number: 75008855
Amherst College, Mead Art Museum, Amherst, Massachusetts: Control_Number: 20090014
Amherst College, Mead Art Museum, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 Accession Number: S.1932.4 Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum ~ SIRIS
This MacNeil Medallion is a 3" bronze medal with nickel plating minted in 2016 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Hermon Atkins MacNeil and the 100th Centenary year of the first minting of the Standing Liberty Quarter dollar. The face duplicates the obverse of MacNeil's original sculpture of Miss Liberty from 1916. The "M" beneath the 13th star is the only form of signature allowed for the sculptor.
<== NOW AVAILABLE ON EBAY the Hermon A. MacNeil Medallion
Nearby or far away, there is no ONE place to go and appreciate this wide range of art pieces. Located in cities from east to west coast, found indoors and out, public and hidden, these creations point us toward the history and values in which our lives as Americans have taken root.
Webmaster: Daniel Neil Leininger ~ HAMacNeil@gmail.com
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COME BACK & WATCH US GROW
WE DESIRE YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOS – Suggestions
1. Take digital photos of the entire work from several angles, including the surroundings.
2. Take close up photos of details that capture your imagination.
3. Look for MacNeil’s signature, often on bronze works. Photograph it too! See examples above.
4. Please, include a photo of yourself and/or those with you standing beside the work.
5. Add your comments or a blog of your adventure. It adds personal interest for viewers.
6. Send photos to HAMacNeil@gmail.com Contact me there with any questions. ~~ Webmaster