Archive for 1915 Panama-Pacific International Expo. ~San Francicso
Pan & Minerva from 1916 ~ Two MacNeil “Bas Reliefs” from a Century Ago in San Francisco
Posted by: | CommentsPAN MINERVA
Two bas relief panels by Hermon A. MacNeil have been discovered. PAN on the left – MINERVA on the right.
They have remained virtually hidden for over 100 years.
Their original installation and images are verified, but their continued deposition as of 2021 remains uncertain.

The above article from 1916 accompanied the the photos of Pan and Minerva in The International Studio, Vol 59, p LVIII.
Hermon A. MacNeil sculpted these bas reliefs over a century ago. Documentation of Pan and Minerva has appeared in recent searches by the webmaster.
Information discovered in recent weeks include:
- A Pair of Bas-reliefs of PAN and MINERVA
- Material: 2 terra cotta reliefs
- Dimensions: 2 1/2 feet by 4 feet
- Mr. Hill Tolerton, Owner
- William C. Hays, Architect
- Location: 540 Sutter St., San Francisco
- Building originally designed as an Art establishment
- Made in Italian Renaissance style with an upper mezzanine level
- Adjoining Courtyard patterned after that of the Italian Building in the late Pan-Pacific Exposition of 1915
- The 2 reliefs no longer appear on the face of the building as was the stated design. [SEE Google street PHOTO included below of 540 Sutter Street today]
- The above images are the only record of the MacNeil work presently found. Other evidence may be uncovered in subsequent searches.
Mr. Tolerton wanted the facade of his new Art Gallery on Sutter Street in San Francisco ornamented by two “sculptured placques”. He commissioned MacNeil, a sculptor of the Pan Pacific Exposition of 1915, to make these reliefs of Pan and Minerva to grace his new Art building.
One of Pan — the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr.
The other of Minerva — the goddess of wisdom, war, art, schools, and commerce. She was the Etruscan counterpart to Greek Athena.
THESE TWO ICONS MARKED TOLERTON’S NEW BUILDING AS AN ART CENTER. [ They do not appear in the street photo captured below from 2020 ]

No trace of the MacNeil bas relief panels of Pan and Minerva at 540 Sutter Street, San Francisco in this 2020 street photo via Google maps. Perhaps they were originally in the space high above the doorway and window a century ago in what now appears as stucco finish. SO, … PAN & MINERVA still remain hidden in the 21st century — if they still exist at all!
SOURCES:
- “Two Bas Reliefs by Hermon A. MacNeil”, The International Studio, Ed: Charles Holmes, et. al. Vol.59, p. lviii. from Google Books on 1/3/2021 at https://books.google.com/books?id=q09aAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR58&dq=Pan+Minerva+san+francisco+Mr.+Hill+Tolerton+1916&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiWheuZtYPuAhVWZc0KHWyZDScQ6AEwAHoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=Pan%20Minerva%20san%20francisco%20Mr.%20Hill%20Tolerton%201916&f=false
- “A New San Francisco Gallery”, American Art News. Vol. XIV, No. 33, New York, May 20, 1916. p. 1.
MacNeil’s “The Sun Vow” ~~ MacNeil Postcard #1 Revisited
Posted by: | Comments“The Sun Vow”, Hermon MacNeil’s earliest acclaimed work, was exhibited around the world and still can be visited in museums and galleries today. This old photo postcard was purchased recently by the editor.

“The Sun Vow” By Hermon Atkins MacNeil is seen here in an early B&W Photograph Postcard by photographer Gabriel Moulin, probably dating from the 1929 Exhibition of the National Sculpture Society at the newly completed California Palace of Legion of Honor, San Francisco.
“The Sun Vow” is pictured here in an early B&W Postcard by photographer Gabriel Moulin.
The likeness probably dates from the 1929 Exhibition of the National Sculpture Society at the newly completed California Palace of Legion of Honor, San Francisco.
The “Sun Vow” was also exhibited by MacNeil in the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, as well as, Exhibitions in Paris, Buffalo, and Saint Louis. The story of California Palace and its permanent reconstruction is an interesting one:
“The California Palace of the Legion of Honor originated as the French pavilion in San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. Alma de Bretteville Spreckels was so impressed with the pavilion that she offered to construct a permanent museum in its likeness, which was completed in 1924 and now stands as the Legion of Honor.”
(https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/legion/collections )
Thus the 1929 exhibit gave birth to this historic photo by Moulin. An previous image of this postcard was posted several years ago on this website at [click here]
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2011/04/07/postcard-1-the-sun-vow-h-a-macneil-in-bw/
Expositions and World’s Fairs ~ Hermon A. MacNeil
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The MacNeil sculpture above the main entrance of the Saint Louis Art Museum is a fine example of the Beaux Arts style of World Fairs of this era. (http://www.slam.org/).
The Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries were filled with hundreds of World’s Fairs. Hermon Atkins MacNeil began his career as a sculptor in the 1890s. He worked on five of these events that were in the U.S. between 1901 and 1915. He helped design buildings, outdoor art, plazas, exhibits, and entered sculptures in many of these expositions.
MacNeil’s works were entered in the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo (1901); the Charleston Exposition in South Carolina (1902); the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis (1904); [MacNeil Sculpture “Meets Me in St. Louis” (7.3) On a recent trip to Saint Louis, Missouri to visit…] the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon (1905); and the Pan-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in (1915)
In future postings we will gather information on these events and MacNeil’s involvement in expos that became extravaganzas of art and sculptures. So more on Chicago, Buffalo, Charleston, Saint Louis, Portland, and San Francisco fairs. Most of the fairs that MacNeil worked on were built in the peak era of the Beaux Arts style of architecture and sculpture in the U.S. He was part of a the American Renaissance from 1890 to 1920, the last phase of Neoclassicism in United States. (See also Beaux Arts link above).
Below is a Wikipedia list of World Fairs from 1700 to the present. Modern Expos tend to be held in outside of the USA in nations with developing economies and growing world trade.
List of World’s Fairs: Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world%27s_fairs#1890s
Stay tuned!
Photo Credit: http://www.slam.org/
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