2022 August :: Hermon A. MacNeil

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Aug

SOLD! ~ MacNeil’s “Chief” sells for $351,000

Posted by: Dan Neil Leininger, Webmaster | Comments (0)

~ MacNeil “Chief of Multnomah” ~

Earns Surprising Sale Price!

SOURCE: https://www.askart.com/Artist_Art_For_Sale_Inquiry.aspx?adno=202382&artist=110997

A 37 inch half-height copy of

Hermon MacNeil’s

“Chief of the Multnomah”

sold for a WORLD Record at

The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction

Reno, Nevada

Estimated sale price was in the range of

$30,000-50,000

The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction Image of the 37 inch version of the MacNeil piece.

“A CHIEF OF THE MULTNOMAH TRIBE”

(1905)

Hermon Atkins MacNeil

In 2021 the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction offered an artwork for sale by Hermon Atkins MacNeil.

Actual Sale Price:

$351,000

Title:

A Chief of the Multnomah Tribe

(1905)

Type:  Sculpture

Medium:  Bronze

Style:  Other

Subject:  Western/Indian

Signature:  Signed and Dated

Size:  37.00″ x 12.00″

Foundry Mark:  Roman Bronze Works N-Y-

Description:  Estimate $30,000-50,000.

SOLD FOR $351,000 ~ A WORLD-RECORD

AT THE COEUR D’ALENE ART AUCTION-RENO!

Now taking consignments for our 2022 auction.

For more information please call 208.772.9009 or

cdaartauction.com

“Coming of the White Man” original clay model 72 inches high at the Poppenhusen Institute in College Point, Queens, New York.

This “Chief of the Mulnomah Tribe” was a 37″ statue.

It was half the height

of the 74″

Chief

sculpted for the original

“Coming of the

White Man”

seen at right ==>

in the original clay model

now at the

Poppenhusen Institute

in College Point where MacNeil donated it before his death.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Chief of the Multnomah”

Here are MORE Postings on this site:

1).

Another of Hermon MacNeil’s “Chief of the Multnomah” Discovered in Vernon, New Jersey Posted on May, 31, 2015

Another Chief of the Multnomah

I’ve been noticing a magnificent piece of the scultpture for the past few years, located in Vernon N.J. at the Minerals Spa and Resort. After closer examination I discovered it is Chief Multnomah with his arms crossed, standing on tip toes looking outward. “The coming of the white man” is the title usually ascribed to this work, but in this case the chief stands alone without his scout or assistant as pictured on your web-site. It is signed simply, H.A. Macneil S.C. 04. Just thought it was a variation of the piece that you might find interesting.I’m not really sure how long its been there, because I’m relatively new to the area. Being a sculptor myself and one that is particularly fond on the late 19th cent/early 20th cent period, with the likes of Rodin, Bayre, Dega, etc. Macneil certainly is a strong and salutory member of that period. Regards, D. Moldoff.

My response was as follows:

Dear D. L. Moldoff,

Thanks for noticing sculpture around you and sharing the information. The ‘Chief Multnomah’ is the larger Half of H. A. MacNeil’s “The Coming of the White Man.” (COTWM). While the COTWM piece is only at the Washington Park in Portland, OR, where it was commissioned for that city. The original plaster sculpture model is in the Poppenhusen Institute in Queens, NYC, just blocks from MacNeil’s studio.

2).

“Chief of the Multnomah” ~ DO WE HAVE ONE? ~ ??????? Posted on Dec 21, 2013

In the Summer of 2013, I received an email from Linette Porter-Metler of the Mount Vernon and Knox County Library of Mount Vernon, Ohio. She enclosed the photos you see below.

Linette entitled her email,

“DO WE HAVE ONE?”

Here is what she said:

Thanks for your website!

We are a four-library public library system in Central Ohio. All year, we have been celebrating our 125^th Anniversary here as a public library in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and during our research we found that one of our sculptures donated to us in 1936 by a Dr. Freeman Ward may be one of The Chief of the Multnomah statues shown on your site. But it does have some differences as you can see by the photo compared to the one on your site at the New York museum.

Ours does not seem to have a number stating it was one of the copies (i.e. 4/20)..All it has is his name, the word “Multnomah”, and the number “03” etched on the side of his footrest. I will send photos. Also, there is a copper? Twisted piece at top of bow near his shoulder.

I will enclose as many photos as I can. If you have any further information to share with us about this, we would appreciate it!

Thanks!

Linette Porter-Metler, Community Relations / Public Affairs, Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County, 201 N. Mulberry Street, Mount Vernon, OHIO

My answer is simply:

YES, MT. VERNON,

YOU HAVE ONE !

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

3).

Another “Chief of the Multnomah” Has Appeared in the East. Posted on Nov, 10, 2011

One of MacNeil’s “Chief of the Multnomah Tribe”, (which has seen a lot in American history since 1904, and even more since “The Coming of the White Man”) still stands guard silently over a once $25,000,000 estate in Easton, MD, known as Hidden Bridge Farm. The future of both the “Chief” and the Estate remain uncertain. The waterfront playground property is now locked in Chapter 7 bankruptcy being handled by Easton attorney, James Vidmar.

These photos show “A Chief of the Multnomah” as he overlooks the Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This same MacNeil statue featured in the previous posting on Nov. 8, 2011 was once owned by John A. Porter.

A source has told us that the “Chief” was placed as the centerpiece on this 540-acre Estate by “John A. Porter.” Porter achieved front page fame as the former CEO of Worldcom before its colossal collapse in 2000-2. The scandal brought Worldcom into the news as the “Enron” of the tele-communication industry.

Daniela Deane, House Gossip for the Washington Post, described the situation in 2002 in this way:

Hidden Bridge Farm, a 540-acre spread with five houses on it, is for sale for $26.5 million — about $16.5 million more than any other property has sold for on the Eastern Shore. The farm sits on 1.5 miles of waterfront on the Choptank River, about 10 miles southwest of Easton.

Besides the 10,000-square-foot all-brick manor house, the property also has a waterfront farmhouse, a 3,000-square-foot guest house, a caretaker’s house, a guest cottage and two two-bedroom … Source: [ Daniela Deane. “House gossip; Eastern Shore Estate Asks a Record Price.” The Washington Post. Washingtonpost Newsweek Interactive. 2002. Retrieved November 08, 2011 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-325206 ]

Deane’s story details one of the holdings of John A. Porter who was worth over $500,000,000 in 1999. Now, however, he is broke. After loosing the Maryland property and “Chief Multnomah,” he has had to scale down to a 10,000 sq foot ocean-front mansion in Palm Beach. That little homestead retreat is worth much less than Hidden Bridge only about $17,000,000. Fortunately, Florida has a generous “Homestead Act”, known by locals as the “mansion loophole” act.

Some folks suggest that you might be able to “buy the farm” for possibly $14 Million, once it comes on the market. The “Chief “ may (or may not) be included in the selling price.

4).

If MacNeil’s “Chiefs” Could Speak, What would They tell us Today? Posted on Nov 13, 2011

(Photo by Elizabeth Daley, Queens Chronicle) Posted on June 1, 2011

A recent estate auction featured a “Chief of the Multnomah” which is the right-hand half of the “Coming of the White Man” pair.

“Everything Must Go” was a feature story in the “Queens Chronicle” by Elizabeth Daley, editor (March 11, 2011). Michael Halberian lived in the former Steinway Family Mansion. It is uncertain whether the MacNeil sculpture was a Steinway heirloom that sold with the mansion or whether Mike discovered it in his appraisal work.

The Poppenhusen Institute houses this plaster model of “A Chief of the Multnomah” donated in 1920 by MacNeil. It represents half of the “Coming of the White Man” grouping comissioned in 1904 for the City of Portland, Oregon by the family of David P. Thompson. (photo courtesy of Bob Walker, College Point)