Search Results for "new York"
New Year Discovery: Another Bust by H. A. MacNeil
Posted by: | CommentsAs we begin the New Year of 2021, we have found a Bronze Bust of Samuel Longstreth Parrish by Hermon A. MacNeil. This work has graced Southampton Village, Long Island for a century, but was not been previously credited on this growing virtual gallery of MacNeil’s works. https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/
Bronze Bust of Samuel Longstreth Parrish by Hermon A. MacNeil.
“Samuel Parrish, a wealthy New York attorney, made Southampton his adoptive home at the end of the 19th century and became one of its most active citizens and generous benefactors until his death in 1932. During the boom years at the dawn of the 20th century, he was involved in every major civic project. He donated land for Southampton Hospital, helped to establish the Rogers Memorial Library, served briefly as village president (mayor) and founded the Parrish Art Museum, which he considered his crowning achievement. He commissioned Stanford White to build a house for his mother on First Neck Lane and made many improvements to the Rogers Mansion, which was his home from 1899 until his death.” — Copy courtesy of the Southampton Historical Museum.
Samuel Longstreth Parrish standing inside his art museum. [Photo postcard of Samuel Parrish in his Museum. Circa 1907. SOURCE: Arts and Architect Quarterly, at https://aaqeastend.com/contents/woodward-local-postcard-sampling/ on 1/1/2021]
Samuel L. Parrish Art Museum, 1898. Source: www.southamptoncenter.org
Parrish Art Museum ~ 2017
The original idea for the museum came to Samuel Parrish, who had studied the Italian Renaissance at Harvard College, while he was on a trip through Italy in 1896 gathering pieces and reproductions of Greek and Roman sculpture. Parrish commissioned fellow Southampton summer resident Grosvenor Atterbury to design the museum.
Related posts:
- Part 2: “Primitive Indian Music” ~ 1894 bronze casting discovered! Is this an early prototype of 1901 “Primitive Chant to the Great Spirit.” ??? (7) A recent inquiry from James Dixon has revealed a previously…
- MacNeil Park – College Point, Queens, NY (6) Hermon A. MacNeil Park in College Point, Queens, offers 29-acre…
- 1901 Pan-American Exposition – Buffalo, New York ~~ “The Rainbow City” (6) Between 1893 and 1905 Hermon Atkins MacNeil and his sculptures…
- Will YOU HELP this Patriot return to College Point? (6) Recognize this Patriot? You can HELP HIM return to College…
- “James Monroe” ~ ~ Hermon MacNeil’s Sculpture of a US President who died on the 4th of July (6) In 1931, exactly 100 years after James Monroe‘s death (b. April..
“MacNeil Medallion” generates new Photos of Flushing’s Lady Liberty
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In Flushing, New York, The World War Monument by Hermon MacNeil is inscribed:
“In Memory of Those
Who Gave Their Lives”
Roger Bow lives in Bayside, NY.
Last week, his life-long interest in collecting Standing Liberty Quarters, lead him to purchase a MacNeil Medallion.
In his order he added that he grew up in Flushing and always admired the World War Monument there.
I asked him if he would send me some pictures.
WELL, HE DID!
Hi Dan,
THANKS, ROGER! Roger Bow with his MacNeil Medallion at the Flushing Memorial on Sunday — (8-23-2020)
CLICK ON PHOTOS BELOW FOR A SLIDESHOW:
“A Very Merrie Christmas and a Happy New Year” 1912
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So Says the Greeting on this 104 year-old Christmas Card from the Hermon MacNeil Studio on College Point, Queens, New York.
A photo of the MacNeil Studio on College Point, holly sprigs and a Doll-faced Christmas bell, these things grace the face of this holiday greeting card.
The back shows an addressee and a College Point postmark for Dec 24, 1912 with a cancellation on a 1 cent George Washington postage stamp. Perhaps these cards were available to MacNeil’s students at the Pratt Institute as Seasons greetings.
A publishers mark, “F. Hettling, Pub.” is listed on the bottom front in very small print.
The addressee (Miss Jule Cox, 285 Carlton Ave, Brooklyn, New York) brings up a residence about 12 blocks from the Pratt Institute where MacNeil was an instructor for many years. (Thus our ‘student theory’ on this Christmas note. The signature is not readily decipherable (from The Deachins?). All is written in black ink with a fountain pen. — All in all, its a curious relic from a century ago.
The photo of the studio was used in other Christmas cards and newspaper articles about the MacNeil sculptors. 
Hermon MacNeil built his Studio building out of stones. These he gathered from the shoreline and bottom on the East River sound behind the studio. Being the son and grandson of builders, he was familiar with hand labor, construction and masonry.
The studio was bathed in natural light through skylights and featuresd a section where Carol Brooks MacNeil (Carrie) did her sculpture work as well.
This curious Item came up as an eBay offering during 2016. SO guess who wanted it? 
MacNeil’s “Ezra Cornell” ~ New Photos
Posted by: | CommentsHere are the first nine photos of the statue of Ezra Cornell taken on a recent trip through New York state and Cornell University campus by my friend and a fellow history buff, Chris Carlsen and his son, Jensen. Chris was staying at “Old Stone Heap,” the home of his friend William Buckley “Buck” Briggs, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell. Click on Buck’s name above to check out his bio and see his extensive NFL expertise. ( Buck can also be heard doing the “color” radio broadcasts for the “Big Red” Cornell Football team. “Uncle Ezra” would be proud! )
Anyway, quality photos of ‘Uncle Ezra’ like these by Chris are rare. Detail closeups of the signature, foundry mark, and image features have never been seen before on this website. Nor have I seen them on any other website either. We have them from a 360 degree perspective. [ Webmaster is Proud. “Uncle Ezra would be proud!” ]
MacNeil once told an interviewer that as he sculpted Ezra Cornell’s features, he realized the man’s resemblance to his own father, John Clinton MacNeil. After that insight, the sculptor said that his labors became a work of happy enthusiasm. [ “Papa John AND Uncle Hermon would be proud!” ]
This MacNeil work was begun in 1917. It’s public dedication was delayed until 1919 due to World War I. A photo of all the straw hats at the dedication can be seen at Chronicle On-Line: Nov 6, 2007
“Stay tuned more to come later.” ~ Webmaster
Thanks Chris 
H. A. MacNeil, Sc. 1917
Roman Bronze Works in NYC was the premire foundry used by MacNeil for its 'Lost Wax' process of casting.
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MacNeil Sculpture at the Newberry Library
Posted by: | CommentsMacNeil’s “Moqui Runner” is running through a prominent Chicago Library. The “Runner’s” race began in 1924 and continues into the 21st century.
Macneil's "Moqui Runner" has silently raced through the Newberry Library since 1924
According to Scott Manning Stevens, Ph.D. (director of the McNickle Center at the Newberry), it is very likely that this Moqui belonged to Edward Everett Ayer himself. Its dimensions are the same as those specified in this AIC collection entry [AIC – “Moqui Runner”]
Edward Ayer also encouraged the young McNeil to travel to the American west and southwest. He urged artists and sculptors to capture the vanishing images of the native culture. In addition he was a patron of many artisans in such travels and western studies.
A portrait of Ayer’s office painted by his nephew, Elbridge Ayer Burbank, includes two MacNeil statuettes (light gray pieces) sitting on the bookcases. The one on the left resembles “Early Toil” (a figure of a native American woman carrying many objects of her daily labor). The other figure on the right appears to be “A Chief of the Multnomah” (an arrow straight chief standing proudly with his arms crossed over his chest). This second piece became the right half of the “Coming of the White Man” grouping that can be seen in Portland’s Washington Park and in Poppenhusen Institute in College Point, Queens, NYC (and in the previous post of June 1, 2011 on this website-see link at bottom).
MacNeil has captured the intensity of the Hopi Runner.
The fact that Ayer private study would include these two MacNeil sculptures offers perpetual record to his connection to the artist and patronage of his western work. The fact that Ayer’s nephew included them in his painting composition bears testimony to his awareness of his uncle’s identity with MacNeil pieces.
MacNeil's swift Runner, balanced on one foot, remains frozen in time from the 19th, to 20th, to 21st Centuries. (Webmaster's photo: D. Leininger - background removed to enhance image)
MacNeil had Blackpipe model in his Chicago studio that he shared with C. F Browne after the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Blackpipe continued to work for him through 1894. This all gives evidence of his fascination with Native people and making them subjects of his sculpture. His travels in 1895 to the southwest (later called the four corners area) greatly influenced his sculpture choices for years to come. These works became the objects of his early public acclaim. Yet their influence remained throughout his career both personally and publicly. In 1931, for example, the Society of Medalists commissioned him to make their annual medal. The “Prayer for Rain” (the obverse – patterned after the “Moqui” shown here) and the “Hopi” (reverse) became his chosen subject. [“Hopi” was the later preferred spelling of the earlier “Moqui.”]
MacNeil’s Exhibit listings for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition are recorded in “The Catalogue of the Exhibition of Fine Arts.” Pan-American Exposition: Buffalo, 1901. p. 45-46; 59 This document indicates that the statue belonging to E. E. Ayer, Esq by 1901 was the one exhibited in the Pan-American exposition and receiving the Silver Medal in the Paris Fair of 1900. It appears that the Ayer Moqui pictured here is that same sculpture.
Records in the Catalogue of Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo, NY are as follows:
-
H. A. MacNeil: -
#1613. The Sun Vow – Silver Medal, Paris Exposition, 1900. -
#1614. The Moqui Runner – Silver Medal, Paris Exposition, 1900 (Lent by E. E. Ayer, Esq) -
#1615. Bust — Agnese -
#1616. Bust – [Lent by C. F. Browne, Esq.] -
p. 59. -
MacNeil, H. A., 145 West 55th Street, New York, N. Y. (II*) 1613-1616 -
*II – indicates MacNeil exhibited in “Group II – Sculpture, including medals and cameos” p. 49.
The Art Institute of Chicago lists the following collection information:
MacNeil's "Moqui Runner" at the Newberry Library (photo by webmaster - bkgd removed)
- Hermon Atkins MacNeil
- American, 1866-1947
- The Moqui Runner (The Moqui Prayer for Rain—The Returning of the Snakes), Modeled 1896, cast c. 1897
- Bronze
- H. 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.)
- Signed on side of base: “H. A. MAC NEIL. Sc. Fond. Nelli. ROMA”
- Inscribed around side of base, front: “THE RETURNING OF THE SNAKES”
- Inscribed under center of the figure, on base: “THE MOQUI / PRAYER.FOR.RAIN”
- Gift of Edward E. Ayer, 1924.1350
See Moqui Runner ~ Previous Post
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2010/09/01/the-moqui-moki-hopi-prayer-runner-by-hermon-a-macneil/
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The “Apache Papoose” an early Native American study by Hermon MacNeil
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Recently, I procured a plaster casting by
Hermon
Atkins
MacNeil
The work was a very early study dating back to the 1890’s.
The image re-appears as part of a larger sculpture entitled
‘Mother and
Papoose’
A bronze casting of that later work was listed by
J. N. BARTFIELD GALLERIES1
They state that:
According to the Roman Bronze Works ledger, Only two casts of Mother and Papoose were ever done, both—#1 and #2 on the same day: November 9, 1906. No other casts are known. (Source: https://www.bartfield.com/ retrieved on 1-25-22)
This detail of the bronze ‘Mother & Papoose’ shows the similarity of the plaster model of 1894 and the bronze casting of 1906.
Of the Papoose model, MacNeil scholar and College Point author, James Haas, wrote the following:
“In the summer of 1895 [when MacNeil traveled in the Four Corners area] he modeled two dozen Indian-themed pieces. His subjects were Utes, Navajo, Acoma and Moqui Indians from which sprang his most famous work, Moqui Prayer for Rain.” Mother and Papoose appears to have been modeled by MacNeil while he was on this trip.
1892 0r 1894
Whether the Papoose plaster was made in 1892 or 1894 is in disagreement. James Haas suggests the later date.
The Papoose is dated in Roman Numerals. At first glance they could be read as:
MDCCCXCII
But there is an additional “I” at the end of the hand engraved date on the crown of the papoose. It could appear to be the other side of a letter ‘V’ which would offer an alternative reading of the Roman Numeral date as:
MDCCCXCIV
which changes the last digit to reads out as a 4 (IV) rather than a 2 (II).
The ‘1894’ reading of the date fits better into the known timeline of MacNeil’s life after the ending of the Chicago Worlds Fair — Worlds Columbian Exposition in 1893.
1892 Papoose by Hermon Atkins MacNeil
J. N. BARTFIELD GALLERIES 1
AMERICAN, WESTERN & SPORTING ART
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947)
According to the Roman Bronze Works ledger, Only two casts of Mother and Papoose were ever done, both—#1 and #2 on the same day: November 9, 1906. No other casts are known. Of the model, MacNeil scholar, James Haas, wrote the following, “In the summer of 1895 [when MacNeil traveled in the Four Corners area] he modeled two dozen Indian-themed pieces. His subjects were Utes, Navajo, Acoma and Moqui Indians from which sprang his most famous work, Moqui Prayer for Rain.” Mother and Papoose appears to have been modeled by MacNeil while he was on this trip. A Massachusetts native, Hermon Atkins MacNeil studied in Boston, New York, and Paris before being asked to work on the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1891. While there, MacNeil saw Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and was inspired to take his classical training to the American West. MacNeil’s bronzes of Native Americans, perhaps more than those of any other sculptor, portray majesty while preserving the individuality of the subject. The spirituality Macneil’s First Americans convey is expressed through lightness and solidity rather than other worldliness.
Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Mother and Papoose
Roman Bronze Works N.Y.
Cast N.1
16 1/2 inches high
Sources:
- J. N. BARTFIELD GALLERIES: AMERICAN, WESTERN & SPORTING ART. Retrieved from https://www.bartfield.com/ [On 1-25-22]
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