Archive for Alexander Stirling Calder
MacNeil Month 2022 ~ Week 1 ~ Cecelia MacNeil’s alarm for the Washington Arch in 1974.
Posted by: | CommentsTwenty-seven years after Hermon MacNeil’s death, Cecelia Weick MacNeil, his second-wife, wrote a series of three articles which she entitled:
“Sculptor Americanus:
HERMON ATKINS MACNEIL”
Cecelia MacNeil, RN (1945). Born Cecelia Weick in 1897. She served as a nurse in WWI in the European theater. She married Karl Weick in about 1920.
Cecelia opens the first of three articles with memories of her 12th Birthday in 1909.
Born in 1897, Cecelia Weick told the story of first the day that she ever heard the name of “Hermon Atkins MacNeil”
NOTE: Thirty-seven years later … Hermon would ask her to marry him.
As a birthday surprise, her father took her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ascending into the American Wing, they sat down on a bench near MacNeil’s sculpture group of “The Sun Vow.” Sixty-four years later, Cecelia described their visit to that sculpture this way:
Owen Schweers, my own grandson, in front of “The Sun Vow” that Cecelia Weick and her father saw on her 12th Birthday. He visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City about 110 Years after Cecelia. That particular casting of MacNeil’s statue was placed there by Daniel Chester French.
“The Sun Vow portrays two Indians, elder and younger, chief and future brave, grandfather and grandson. The grandfather, his body still subtle and strong, is weary just the same. The viewer knows that the chieftain’s feathered head-dress … will never again be worn. The old Indian holds this symbol of authority on his lap as he presses the young Indian to him. The grandchild holds an arrowless bow, symbolizing the celebration of coming of age in the in Indian lore but transcending the culture of any age. For when the young brave is able to shoot an arrow into the son, far enough away so that its decent to earth passes unseen, then he has attained manhood.
After at least five minutes of silence my father commented.
‘Ceil, the man who created this work is surely one of the greatest American Sculptors. Never, never forget his name.’
I am still a romantic. My father’s words were to be part of my destiny. 37 years later I married Hermon Atkins MacNeil.”
Sculptor AMERICANUS
CECELIA opened her first of three articles with those memories of her 12th Birthday. Continuing, she describes her sculptor, hero, and sunset-partner with the following phrases:
The Sculptor:
- MODESTY was so much a part of Hermon MacNeil
- Will my words of praise cause his spirit to stir ?
- Will my words cause his truly American soul to BLUSH?
- A successful bronze gives the sculptor a few steps toward immortality.
- A Creator of Memorials, Coins and Medals
- Time has made almost Hermon a forgotten American type …
- an extinct species
- whose works are ravaged by time, corrosion, spoilage …
- Hermon loved sculpting American Indians in their naturalness and beauty.
- Cecelia cites Jean Stansbury Holden’s description of Hermon in 1907 as:
- a boyish, slender, medium height, with large eyes that meet you with a twinkle …
- a serious sculptor when working …
- without pretense of his accomplishments …
- When keeps his medals from:
- Chicago Exposition – 1893;
- Paris Exposition – 1900
- Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, NY – 1901
- Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St Louis – 1904
- and numerous others …
- IN DRAWERS in his studio, and rubs off some of the tarnish before showing them
- TRULY without Pretension or POMP.
AMERICANUS:
Quoting Jean Stansbury Holden she adds,
“While his work shows this variety in subject and treatment, one quality runs through it all; Whatever he touches is, in its very essence American; it smacks of the soil.” 1
Mrs. MacNeil then suggests:
“American history can be studied by totaling up Hermon’s works. This can be seen by mentioning a mere scattering of examples — The Pony Express, McKinley, The Pilgrim Fathers, Pere Marquette, Ezra Cornell, George Rogers Clark, the eastern pediment of the United States Supreme Court Building — and the most familiar and relevant of all, the marble of Washington as Commander-in-Chief, which along with Stirling Calder’s figure of Washington as President, graces Stanford White’s Washington Arch in Greenwich Village. (bold added).
Source: Cecelia MacNeil with Dr. Allen Nestle. “Sculptor Americanus: Hermon Atkins MacNeil”. (First in a Series of Three), The Antiques Journal, April 1974, p. 54.
BUT then Cecelia sounded a shrill alarm for the Washington Arch. Pointing out 1974 photos showing decades of decay. Air pollution. traffic (Cars, buses) traveled through the arch for over 75 years. Cleaning by abrasive sandblasting and eroded the soft marble of both statues by MacNeil and Calder.
Figure 6 shows the toll on MacNeil’s statue of Washington’s pitted face.
She writes:
“Washington’s nose has been carelessly damaged by thoughtless sandblasting (figure 6). Sandblasting marble! Now th first President resembles a leper. Aldolph Block, former student of Hermon, reknowned (sic) president of the National Sculpture Society (as Hermon was on two different occasions) despairs over the disaster to this historical landmark. Smog from the air, vandalism, time, such factors can be expected. But destruction such as Washington has suffered, accidental as it may have been, seems all too contemporary.”
Over the years Cecelia MacNeil wrote many letters to the responsible officials seemingly hopeless battle.” Her complaints as well as Mr. Block’s were “for all intents and purposes, ignored.
Cecelia shares her familiarity with her late partner by suggesting:
1916 Photo of the installation of the MacNeil statue. Thia appears to have the statue sitting in the right hand leg of the Arch. The left leg is where it was permanently installed. Photo Credit: John Gomez, NYC. [ https://i0.wp.com/hermonatkinsmacneil.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/MacNeil-Washington-Arch-1.jpeg?resize=799%2C1024&ssl=1 ]
“One can NOT imagine Hermon and his fellow sculptors ignoring Washington’s face. In no time at all a group of them, most of whom worked with Hermon, would have a scaffold up. A roster would include (Phillip) Martiny, Daniel Chester French, Augustus St. Gaudens, Alexander Stirling Calder, giants all. I can see Hermon chewing on a small cigar, making jokes.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This concludes
Part 1 of MacNeil Month.
In Part 2 we will examine the
History and RESTORATION of the Washington Arch and the
two Washington Statues.
~~~~~~~~~~~
READ MORE: History of Washington Arch by New York Architecture
~~~~~~~~~~~
FOOTNOTES:
Traffic in the 1950s
- Holden, Jean Stansbury (October 1907). “The Sculptors MacNeil“. The World’s Work: A History of Our Time XIV: 9403–9419. [Retrieved from GOOGLE eBooks]
- Cecelia MacNeil with Dr. Allen Nestle. “Sculptor Americanus: Hermon Atkins MacNeil”. (First in a Series of Three), The Antiques Journal, April 1974, pp. 10-13, 54.
- Cecelia MacNeil with Dr. Allen Nestle. “Sculptor Americanus: Hermon Atkins MacNeil”. (Second in a Series of Three), The Antiques Journal, May 1974, pp. 28-31.
- Cecelia MacNeil with Dr. Allen Nestle. “Sculptor Americanus: Hermon Atkins MacNeil”. (Third in a Series of Three), The Antiques Journal, June 1974, pp. 32-35, 51.
- Lynn H. Burnett. (Editor’s Comments:)“Hermon Atkins MacNeil in Historical Perspective”. The Antiques Journal April 1974, pp. 4, 5, 48.
~~~~~~~
Related posts:
WASHINGTON ARCH in the 1920’s
- INDEPENDENCE DAY Images ~ from Hermon A. MacNeil (5) Here are a few images of Independence from Hermon Atkins…
- Washington Statues “Bleeding” with Red Paint! MacNeil & Calder works defaced. (5) We were saddened to hear that “red paint” was splattered…
- The death of Carol Brooks MacNeil and Hermon MacNeil’s remarriage. (5) Cecelia W. Muench MacNeil In 1944 Carol Louise Brooks MacNeil…
- Happy (actual) Birthday, Mr. Washington! ~~~ ~~~ Visit New York City for MacNeil Month ~~~ (#8) (4) George Washington February 22, 1732 Pictured below is Hermon A. …
- MacNeil’s “General George Washington” shows up on “Forgotten New York” virtual tour. (4) On this 281st anniversary of the birth of George Washington…
- Senator Bernie Sanders Calls for a Political Revolution at Washington Arch. (4) NEW YORK CITY — In Washington Square Park last evening,…
Related Images:
Washington Statues “Bleeding” with Red Paint! MacNeil & Calder works defaced.
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Both George Washington statues on the Arch were defaced with red paint in Washington Square. [Credit: Stefan Jeremiah for New York Post]
We were saddened to hear that “red paint” was splattered over statues of George Washington in NYC yesterday.
CLICK HERE for the New York Post story of the defacing. By Kevin Sheehan and Tina Moore June 29, 2020 | 12:26pm | Updated ]
Vandalism on June 29, 2020 left MacNeil’s statue “bleeding” red paint of of the 104 year-old marble monument.
The news arrived this morning from Antonio Bueti, a New York native, MacNeil buff, and Friend of HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com/
Three weeks ago, I posted Photos and the story of BLM Protesters marching through the Arch during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd. CLICK HERE
“We had to work together on those statues, Calder and I,” said Mr. MacNeil, “and we had some hot arguments over them, though we are good friends. Of course, each of us had his own statue to do, but we had to treat them in the same restrained manner, to fit each other and the Arch itself” J. Walker McSpadden, Famous Sculptors of America: Books for Libraries Press, Freeport, NY, 1924, reprint 1968
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Senator Bernie Sanders Calls for a Political Revolution at Washington Arch.
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Senator Bernie Sanders at the Washington Arch In NYC on April 13, 2016. MacNeil’s statue of Washington as Commander of the Continental stands to the right on the back of the Arch. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/apr/13/us-election-campaign-live-sanders-clinton-trump-cruz-kasich
NEW YORK CITY —
In Washington Square Park last evening, two marble figures of “George Washington” stood quietly in the dark amid rallying cries for political revolution in the November 2016 Elections.
Hermon MacNeil’s statue of “General George Washington” and Alexander Stirling Calder’s Statue of “President Washington” have graced the back of the monument for nearly a century. They immortalize two facets of an American giant who was no stranger to either revolution or politics.
The 124-year-old marble Washington Arch framed a white-haired Bernie Sanders as the Brooklyn-born senator railed on about how politics is “fixed” for the wealthiest 1% of Americans. A reported 27,000 people packed the park on a brisk NYC evening. The event in one of the largest rallies of this campaign.
Senator Sander’s familiar stump speech rang out loud and clear as the Presidential candidate’s raspy-voice pierced the night air. The enthusiasm of “Gotham City” night-life roared from the sign-waving crowd. The event seemed to open another chapter in the life of this historic gathering place of American celebration and demonstration.
The white marble mass of the Washington Arch towers over the scene of a packed crowd filled with electric energy.
Sanders 40 years of independent politics has sounded themes of “income inequality”, “health care rights”, “Wall Street power”, and “corporate greed” to list a few. In recent months he has thundered his message to ever-widening audiences across the United States.
The rally last evening brought Sanders home to his Brooklyn roots and this historic place of American identity and protest.
Whether it brought him any closer to George Washington’s old job has yet to be determined.
This daylight view of MacNeil’s General Washington Profiled with Valor guarded the rear flanks of the Arch. The statue was added to the monument in 1917 – 1918.
“Washington as President” by Alexander Stirling Calder stands opposite the MacNeil statue. The statue was added to the monument in 1917 – 1918.
The Washington Arch BEFORE 1912 with no statues in place.
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MacNeil’s “General George Washington” shows up on “Forgotten New York” virtual tour.
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The face of the General shows marble worn through 97 years of exposure and harsh cleaning.
On this 281st anniversary of the birth of George Washington (Feb. 22, 1732), we visit Hermon MacNeil’s famous statue in Washington Square, NYC. Photos here show it both today and in MacNeil’s original plaster model of 1915 from his College Point studio. His model was located just this past year. (See photos below).
CLICK BELOW for The Washington Arch as New Yorkers and visitors stroll southward from Fifth Avenue into Washington Park.
http://forgotten-ny.com/2011/11/a-walk-on-waverly-place/37-arch/
CLICK BELOW for General George Washington ~ MacNeil’s patriot Commander of the Continental Army.
http://forgotten-ny.com/2011/11/a-walk-on-waverly-place/39-washington-3/
CLICK BELOW for President Washington ~ Alexander Stirling Calder’s rendition of the civilian “Mr. President”
http://forgotten-ny.com/2011/11/a-walk-on-waverly-place/38-washington-2/
BELOW is my photo of MacNeil’s original studio plaster model for the George Washington Statue. It is about 3 1/2 feet tall.
Original Plaster model for “George Washington as Commander-in Chief” by H.A. MacNeil
The actual statues on the Arch are 12 feet tall. They were both carved by the Piccirilli Brothers. To see a clay model for the piece CLICK BELOW =>
http://www.lehman.edu/academics/arts-humanities/piccirilli/img44.php
The Picarrilli’s were a famous family of stone-carvers and sculptors who made many of the great sculpture carvings of that period (early 20th century).
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The Missouri Capitol burns after being struck by lightning the evening of Feb. 5, 1911, in Jefferson City. City firefighters, state penitentiary inmates and fire crews from Sedalia, Mo., who rushed by train to assist from more than 60 miles away, fought the blaze, but the building was a total loss. ¦ AP Photo/Missouri State Archives
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative portrait by Artist C. Daughtrey is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
On February 5, 1911 lightning struck the Missouri Capitol in the evening. Responders included local firefighters, state penitentiary inmates and even fire crews from as far as sixty miles away in Sedalia, Missouri. Many came by train to help. But the building was a total loss. The resulting fire had entirely destroyed the state’s historic building complex (see the ‘day after’ photo below).
After the public saw the devastating results of the fire, donations began to come in for restoration. School children collected coins, the public sent gifts, and private funds contributes as well. All helped to rebuild the the Jefferson City capitol with new sculptures and new art making it more spectacular that before.
Hermon A. MacNeil was one of the many famous American sculptors commissioned for sculptures and art for the new Missouri Capitol after the tragic fire. Other renowned sculptors commissioned for work on the re-built state structure include: James Earl Fraser, Robert Aiken, Alexander A. Weinman, Karl Bitter, and Alexander Stirling C(see photo below)alder.
In this photo provided by the Missouri State Archives, people walk around the ruins of the Missouri Capitol on the day after. (AP Photo/Missouri State Archives) Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/image_8158f625-1596-5d61-8c0a-b210ee48de6f.html#ixzz1s4tJIm8l
Portion of the North Allegorical frieze, “Missouri, the Mother of the West,” Hermon MacNeil – Sculpted in 1924. Note the sculptor’s name appearing along bottom left corner. [ Photo Credit: SIRIS -Smithsonian Institute Research Information System. ]
CLICK HERE FOR: Smithsonian Institute link to eight photos of this frieze
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INDEPENDENCE DAY Images ~ from Hermon A. MacNeil
Posted by: | CommentsHere are a few images of Independence from Hermon Atkins MacNeil for this 237th Fourth of July Day in the United States of America.
1) From Vincennes, Indiana at the George Rogers Clark National Monument, Here is a hero of the American Revolution:
MacNeil’s “George Rogers Clark” in the rotunda of the National Monument in Vincennes, Indiana (Photo credit: Dan Leininger – webmaster)
The ranger at the monument commented on the proud dignity that MacNeil’s work conveys in the face and stance of this 26 year-old Virginia patriot, Col. George Rogers Clark. (Photo: Dan Leininger ~ webmaster)
On a recent visit to the monument, the National Park Ranger commented on the pride and confidence that Hermon MacNeil placed in his rendering of Clark’s gaze and pose for this sculpture. Clark, a Virginia Militia officer, won the approval and support of Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, to conduct a daring attack on the British in the Western frontiers. Clark crafted, trained, and commanded a special force of two hundred frontiersman, militia, and Kentucky sharpshooters. Their loyalty to the cause and Clark’s strategy of surprise resulted in capture of the British fortifications on the Western frontiers along the Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash Rivers at Vincennes, IN; Cahokia, IL; Kaskaskia, IL Enduring severe winter hardships, starvation, and sickness their monumental military achievement resulted in British withdrawal from the West and the surrender of territories east of the Mississippi in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. These are due in part to Clark’s Victories. He was the oldest of a family of famous brothers. In 1804 his brother William Clark, along with Meriwether Lewis, would explore the Louisiana Purchase west of the Mississippi for President Jefferson.
2. From New York City, Washington Square Arch. ~ “George Washington, Commander in Chief” by Hermon A. MacNeil.
1916 Photo of the installation of the MacNeil statue. Thia appears to have the statue sitting in the right hand leg of the Arch. The left leg is where it was permanently installed. Photo Credit: John Gomez, NYC.
General George Washington with Flags (U.S. and POW/MIA) ~ Washington Arch Greenwich, NYC (Photo courtesy of: Gibson Shell – 2011)
In 1916 the northeast statue pedestal received its Washington statue after being empty for over 20 years.
The other shelf of the Arch remained empty until 1918 when Alexander Stirling Calder’s “Washington as President” was installed. The installation on the right is a bit confusing. This photo was salvaged from a NYC flea market in June 2012 by John Gomez and used with his permission. John purchased this and other photos of interest to this MacNeil researcher and has graciously allowed their use by webmaster. This ‘strange’ photo shows the MacNeil statue resting on the right-hand side of the Arch where the Calder statue would be placed two years later. (The ladder, rope and pulleys suggest “Men at Work.” Compare the 2012 photo to its left.)
For MacNeil this event took place the same year as the first issue of his sculpture for the U.S. Mint’s “Standing Liberty Quarter.”
For more on the Washington Arch: CLICK HERE
3. From Philadelphia, PA. “The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument.” Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Jim Haas, author and College Point native, sent this Philadelphia shot of Hermon MacNeil’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. That is a rare shot of Jim himself, taken by Lynne, his director of public relations. : ) Jim is a Friend of HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com and a generous researcher for the website. CLICK HERE for Jim’s Books
The second half of the American Revolution (the preservation of the Union) is commemorated in this pair of 60 foot monuments on either side of the parkway entrance.
The back of the monuments read:
~~ “ONE COUNTRY, ONE CONSTITUTION, ONE DESTINY” ~~
~~ “IN GIVING FREEDOM TO THE SLAVE,
WE ASSURE FREEDOM TO THE FREE.” ~~
HEAR & VIEW PHILADELPHIA’S PRIDE IN THIS MACNEIL ART AT:
CLICK HERE and THEN run video by VIMEO.COM
FOR MORE INFO ON THESE MacNeil works see:
- DC Memorials – excellent photos ~ CLICK HERE
- Philadelphia Pride – “Soldiers & Sailors Monument” ~ by H. A. MacNeil (31.4)
- 75th Anniversary of the George Rogers Clark National Monument (9.2)
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Happy 408th Birthday, Roger Williams!
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- ROGER WILLIAMS bust by MacNeil at “Hall of Fame” in Bronx Comm. College ~ Photo Credit: Librado Romero/The New York Times ( http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/12/05/nyregion/05metjournal2_ready.html )
December 21st marks the Birthday of Roger Williams (theologian, teacher, preacher, linguist, pioneer, reformer, and spiritual seeker after God).
Hermon Atkins MacNeil’s bust sculpture of Roger Williams ( made in 1920) is only 91 years old, but the man himself was born 317 years earlier on December 21, 1603. (That is a lot of candles to have on a cake).
The sculpture of Williams is one of four that MacNeil made for the Hall. His other subjects were: James Monroe, Francis Parker, and Rufus Choate.
Many of MacNeil’s contemporaries sculptors were commissioned for works at the colonnade: Daniel Chester French, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, A. Stirling Calder, James Earle Fraser, Frederick William MacMonnies, Lorado Taft, and Adolph Weiman. The Hall of Fame is also a virtual “Who’s Who” of American Sculptors.
Over one hundred sculptures line the 630 foot long open-air colonnade. The NeoClassical arc walkway was designed in 1900 on the undergraduate campus of New York University, now Bronx Community College.
The Hall has not added any sculptures since 1975 but remains a stunning collection of American Renaissance art and history. See the articles below for more on both Roger Williams and the Hall of Fame of Great Americans.
FOR MORE:
- See original photo by Librado Romero/The New York Times at:
University Heights Journal; “A Hall of Fame, Forgotten and Forlorn”
- Wikipedia comments on Roger Williams
- Nick Gier at NewWest offers a this summary of Roger Williams
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1895
Hermon Atkins MacNeil, American Sculptor (1866-1947)
MacNeil’s bronze of Blackpipe, a Sioux warrior he befriended in 1893 (source Smithsonian Archives)
December of 1895 was an exciting time in the life of Hermon A. MacNeil — A time when he was described as “the most happy young man I know.”
Chicago. In fact, 1985, in general, had been a productive year for the sculptor. Following the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, times had been tough for both artists and Fair workers. MacNeil had found Black Pipe, (the Sioux from Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show), cold and hungry on the streets of Chicago. He took him in as studio help and a model for future sculptures.
Marquette. During 1895, Hermon had completed the four bronze panels depicting the life of Fr. Jacques (Père) Marquette. They were put in place over the four entry doors of the Marquette Building (CLICK HERE) where he and his artist friend, Charles F. Browne, shared a studio.
Panel 4 – “The de Profundis was intoned ..
According to information from the MacArthur Foundation (current owner and curator of the Marquette Building), Amy Aldis Bradley wrote in 1895 to Peter Brooks:
After commissioning MacNeil for the exterior bronzes, Aldis wrote to Peter Brooks, “McNeil’s [sic] panels are being placed in position. It is greatly to their and his credit that these bas-reliefs have won for him the Roman [Reinhart] Fellowship. The Commission, choosing him as the best of the very young men…The young sculptor was married on Christmas Day, and sailed for Rome on Wednesday, and is, on the whole, the most happy young man I know. He is very grateful to the owners of the Marquette Building.” (http://marquette.macfound.org/slide/herman-macneil/ )
Rinehart Prize. In December, he received news that he had been named as recipient of the Rinehart Roman Scholarship for study in Rome. Newspapers such as the Nov. 25, 1895 Chicago Tribune (CLICK HERE), and the Dec. 22, 1895 -New York Sun, (CLICK HERE) (columns 5 & 6), contained the news of the selection of this 29 year-old western artist to receive the Prix Rome.
H.A.MacNeil ~1895 sketch – The Sun (New York City)
The sculptors on the committee that selected MacNeil for the award were the ‘giants’ among American sculptors of the 19th century. As mentioned in the above newspapers, the Rinehart Roman committee included Augustus Saint Gaudens, John Quincy Adams Ward, and Daniel Chester French.
These famous sculptors were in the prime of their careers. Saint Gaudens, at 47, had been the sculptural advisor for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. One tradition suggests that MacNeil asked Saint Gaudens for a letter of reference to Phillip Martiny that got him work on the that Exposition in 1893. John Quincy Adams Ward, at age 65 was the ‘grandfather’ of American sculptors, and the founder as well as standing president of the National Sculpture Society. Daniel Chester French, age 45, was also a founding member of the National Sculpture Society, and sculpted the colossal sixty-foot golden “Republic” centerpiece statue for the Chicago Fair. ( A thirty foot tall miniature golden replica of which still graces Jackson Park in Chicago today.)
Marriage:
On Christmas Day 1895, in Chicago, he married Carol Louise Brooks, also a sculptor. Earlier MacNeil was informed that he had won the Rinehart Roman Scholarship. Following their wedding, the pair left for Rome, passing three years there (1896-1899) and eventually spend a fourth year in Paris where their first son, Claude, was born. During those years they study together under the same masters and live on the shared income of Hermon’s Rinehart Scholarship. (Carol had also studied sculpture with both Lorado Taft and Frederick William MacMonnies and been a member of “The White Rabbits” ~ a self christened group of women sculptors called in to complete the massive work load of ‘staff’ statues needed for the Chicago Fair in 1893. ).
Future:
Other events from 1895 would later unfold into sculpture-opportunities for Hermon MacNeil. In May in Greenwich Village, New York City, Stanford White, with assistance from both Frederick MacMonnies and Phillip Martiny, completed a permanent Washington Arch.
, 1895 photo of Empty pedestals on the new Washington Arch with New Yorkers strolling into the popular park. The skyline includes Judson Memorial Church tower to the right of the Arch. NYC Citizens would wait more than twenty years before the MacNeil and Calder tributes to George Washington as Commander-in-Chief and as President would be commissioned and put in place in 1916 and 1918. (Photo credit: NYC -Architecture.com: ~ http://nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV046WashingtonSquareArch.htm)
The first one, made in 1889 of paper and wood, commemorated the centennial of the inauguration of George Washington. Received with great popularity, the citizens of NYC demanded a permanent Arch monument for their first President. White’s design was dedicated on May 4, 1895 with two empty pedestals, meant for statues of Washington. These niches on the north face of the monument remained empty for almost two decades before MacNeil’s statue of Washington as Commander-in-Chief would fill one pedestal (east side, in 1916), and Alexander Stirling Calder’s statue of Washington as Statesman would fill the other (west side, in 1918).
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“Column of Progress” ~ and Hermon A. MacNeil
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"Column of Progress" with MacNeil's "Adventurous Bowman" as the finial figure on top. (postcard image courtesy of Gib Shell)
Of the many spectacular architectural creations that towered over San Francisco at the Pan-Pacific Exposition in 1915, perhaps “The Column of Progress” was one of the more unusual, at least by American standards.
MacNeil’s finial sculpture, “The Adventurous Bowman” atop the column was regarded as “the most splendid expression of sculpture and architectural art in the Exposition.”
The Exposition was a celebration of American achievement in the completion of the Panama Canal, thus the ‘Pan-Pacific’ designation.
In her 1915 book, “Sculpture of the Exposition: Palaces and Courts” author Juliet Helena (Lumbard) James stated:
The prototype of this column is seen in Trajan’s Column in the Forum of Trajan or in the Column of Marcus Aurelius, in Rome.
Both of these ancient prototypes are ‘old world’ symbols of imperial pride for military conquests. Both are in Rome within a mile of each other. Both would be in the familiar foreground during MacNeil’s studies in Rome (1896-99). Perhaps the same could be said for many other sculptors who designed the PPIE and also studied in Rome.
Note the Column’s resemblance to Tragan’s Column in Rome. Also read more on this famous piece of Roman architecture.
In addition the Column of Marcus Aurelius bears a prototypical resemblance, though perhaps less spectacular.
For video of the Art of Exposition pictured in James’ book see: Juliet Helena (Lumbard) James, Art of the Exposition
Karl Bitter, a longterm colleague of MacNeil’s, organized the overall planning of sculpture for PPIE .
“After working as a sculptor at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and as director at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901, Bitter’s extraordinary organizational skills led him to be named head of the sculpture programs at both the 1904 St. Louis Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, where Lee Lawrie trained with his guidance, and the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition held in San Francisco, California. In 1906/1907, he presided the National Sculpture Society.”
[ Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Bitter ]
Both Bitter and MacNeil were based in New York City. They worked on at least four world’s fairs together. Both were elected president of the National Sculpture Society – Bitter in 1906-7, MacNeil in 1910-12 and again 1922-24.
While Karl Bitter was the designated the “Chief of Sculpture of the Exposition,” A. Stirling Calder, another one of MacNeil ‘s colleagues and former students, was called, “The man at the wheel in the management of all the works of sculpture at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.” Bitter was tragically struck by a car in NYC and killed before the PPIE work was completed. Leadership for the completion of the Exposition sculptures then fell on the shoulders of his young assistant, A. Stirling Calder .
MacNeil's 'Adventurous Bowman' atop the "Column of Progress." None the structures and sculptures seen here remained after the PPIE closed in 1915. (Postcard courtesy of Gib Shell)
Architect – Symmes Richardson, one of the junior partners of the firm of McKim, Meade and White of New York designed the column structurally. This was the architectural firm of “The White City” of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. That event jump-started MacNeil’s career as well as those of many artists and sculptors of that era.
The postcard pictured above identifies the Column sculptor as Alexander Stirling Calder. He and MacNeil would later collaborate on their paired statues of George Washington “at War” and “at Peace” for the Washington Arch in New York City. By 1914 MacNeil had already begun working on his ‘General Washington’ statue erected in 1916. Calder’s ‘President Washington’ would be placed on the Arch two years later. Stanford White, another architect from McKim, Mead and White designed the Washington Arch.
Juliet James offers a detailed interpretation and description of the “Column of Progress” in her book.
“The Column of Progress”
The bas-reliefs at the base are by Isadore Konti of New York. The sum of all human effort is represented. Man’s spiritual progress is seen on the four sides of the base. Atlas rolling the heavens suggests the passage of time. Men with their different ideals in the long procession of progress are seen. Some go manfully on, some fearfully, some feel the need of the sword to win their way, others find companions necessary, but all of these men and women must have faith (represented by the two meaningful women at the door), the hope of the palm of victory, and hear the bugle call as they go on their upward climb. They pass before us, these men and women of different aspirations, and disappear from view. Up, up they climb. At the top of the column is Hermon A. McNeil’s Burden Bearers, supporting his Adventurous Bowman. “All must toil to win” and some must bend their backs that others may rise. Has it not been so at the Panama Canal? Have not many done the labor that the United States, the Adventurous Bowman, may win? This purposeful type of manhood, with magnificent decision, has just drawn the bow, and on has sped the arrow of success. The bowman looks to see it hit the mark. The man on the right possibly is one of his aids. The little woman at his side will know by his eyes if the arrow has gone home, and she will then bestow upon him the laurel wreath and the palm of victory which she holds in her hand. She stands ready to help him. See the group from the sea-wall directly in front of the Column of Progress for the splendid purpose expressed in the figure and on the face of the “Adventurous Bowman.” Many San Franciscans would like to have this wonderful group duplicated in bronze to remain permanently with the city of the Exposition of 1915.”
While not a part of the Column of Progress, MacNeil’s “Signs of the Zodiac” were also an appreciated part of his contribution to the Exposition. This sculpture was destroyed as well. [This is the only surviving photo that I have found to date – Webmaster.]
http://www.books-about-california.com/Pages/Sculpture_and_Mural/Sculpture_Illustration_022.html
Related Images:
MacNeil's 12' 8" statue Washington (left ) from the other side of the Arch.
George Washington
February 22, 1732
Pictured below is Hermon A. MacNeil’s sculpture of General Washington in the uniform of the General in Chief of the Continental Army placed on the easterly pedestal base of the memorial Arch on May 27, 1916.
H. A. MacNeil's "Washington at War" balances the east side of the Arch in Washington Square while Alexander Stirling Calder's "Washington as President" graces the west side. Both sculptors studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and represent that art style.
The first Washington Arch was constructed to commemorate the centenary of George Washington’s inauguration as the first President of the United States. That Memorial Arch was a temporary structure meant only for the celebration in 1889.
“The first arch was made of wood, designed by Stanford White, great architect of the age of opulence. It was originally constructed for the Centennial of Washington’s Inauguration. The celebration took place on April 30, 1889. Festooned with papier mache wreaths and garlands of flowers, lit up with hundreds of newly invented incandescent lights, the whole thing cost a whopping $2700. The arch was the hit of the ceremonies. Two days later the Marble and final version was commissioned. White also designed that. By April of 1892 the last block was in place, though the arch wasn’t dedicated until May 4, 1895!”
“Washington’s likenesses were not added until 1916 when the east pier’s “Washington at War” by Herman MacNeil was unveiled. Two years later the west pier’s “Washington at peace” by A. Stirling Calder was dedicated. Both have suffered erosion during the age of the automobile and the formerly fine features of Washington are pitted and broken down so, he is no longer really recognizable. Perhaps it’s time to redo them in bronze. For the next century. Why not?”
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV046WashingtonSquareArch.htm
Calder's "George Washington as President" as it appeared before restoration.
Stanford White, of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, (click name to see their work) was one of the first to be associated with the City Beautiful and the Beaux Arts movements dedicated to cleaning up American cities and planning them with order and artistic beauty. The Arch stands at the end of Waverly Place and Fifth Avenue. The neighborhood was lined with mansions of the wealthy in the gilded age before World War I.
“The Gilded Age was a time of pomp and peace and prosperity. Never before were the gaps between the rich and poor so sharply divided as they were in those quiet years before The Great War of 1917. Without personal income tax to curtail immense fortunes in America’s burgeoning industries, millionaires flourished and paraded their wealth for all the world to see. The magnificent mansions of John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie stand like faded peacocks along New York’s Fifth Avenue to this day, bearing silent tribute to a luxurious past long faded into time.”
Marjorie Dorfman at http://www.nyc-architecture.com/ARCH/ARCH-McKimMeadandWhite.htm
According to the Daily Planet, Washington Square ARCH is one of the great place to celebrate Washington’s Birthday:
George Washington Sculptures at Washington Square Arch, Washington Square Park
Designed by architect Stanford White, the Arch was dedicated in 1895. Washington as Commander-in-Chief, Accompanied by Fame and Valor was designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil and was installed in 1916. Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice was designed by Alexander Stirling Calder and installed in 1918. A major restoration of the arch was completed in December 2004. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M090/news
Related Images:
NOTE: February 22nd marks the 279th Birthday of George Washington. February 27th is the 145th Birthday of Hermon A. MacNeil. The Arch in Washington Square Park, NYC, contains TWO separate statues of Washington
[Continued from the February 12th posting:] While Washington "Refused to Be King" many personal factors as well as the expectations of the people were put upon him.
1) As a large man with great physical bearing, he was an embodiment of authority all his life.
2) At 6′ 4″ and slightly over 200 lbs, he was a full head taller contemporaries.
3) Washington was not a handsome man but when he set in motion, his full package conveyed a sheer majesty. Benjamin Rush observed, “He has so much martial dignity in his deportment that there is not a king in Europe but would look like a valet de chambre by his side.
4) As a fledgling nation that had only known “ROYALTY” prior to independence. So any leader who looked royal was eligible, so to speak, for coronation.
5) “John Adams claimed that the reason Washington was invariably selected to lead every national effort was that he was always the tallest man in the room.” (Ellis, p. 124)
6) It did not help that he often portrayed a royal style of dress, designed his own uniforms and had them tailor-made to fit his striking frame.
7) As one of his biographers put it, “his body did not just occupy space, it seemed to organize space around it.“ (Ellis, p. 124)
Given all the above, Ellis adds the 'crowning' observation: He had no compunction about driving around Philadelphia in an ornate carriage drawn by six cream-colored horses; or, when on horseback, riding a white stallion with a leopard cloth and gold trimmed saddle; or accepting laurel crowns at public celebrations that resembled coronations. (Ellis, p. 127) No wonder the majestic man became regarded as "His Majesty." The TWO Washington Statues MacNeil's sculpture of Washington as "Soldier" was the first of the two done in stone. It was intended to set off the companion piece of Washington as President, by Alexander Stirling Calder on the supporting walls of the Washington Arch, on Fifth Avenue, New York. One shows “The President,” and the other” “The Soldier.” MacNeil told McSpadden in 1924: "We had to work together on those statues, Calder and I," said Mr. MacNeil, "and we had some hot arguments over them, though we are good friends. Of course, each of us had his own statue to do, but we had to treat them in the same restrained manner, to fit each other and the Arch itself." In order to fit the the Arch's 77 foot stature, MacNeil's Washington was sculpted twice life-size. So while 6 foot 4 inches in life, in MacNeil's hands,Washington became 12 foot and 8 inches tall. Despite this size the greater massiveness of the Arch almost dwarfs the figures. In a similar manner, the revolution and the resulting republic appear to dwarf any ONE person or group of Founders. Perhaps that is the essence of the heritage of the United States of America as a republic. A heritage recaptured by the immortal words of another President, Mr. Abe Lincoln (also born in this month) as he closed his comments over the grave sites at Gettysburg.
The statue and plinth dwarf the man below.
"that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." After Washington finished his second four year term as President, he stepped down. He returned to his beloved Mount Vernon Estate. He lived only three more years and died in 1799 in the third year of the Presidency of John Adams. Yes, "we have a republic, if we can keep it." And the man who could have been King, chose instead, to be a Citizen. First a citizen-soldier and then a citizen-President. And so it has been ever since. Presidents Day, the rule of law and the TWO twelve-foot eight-inch statues of Washington by Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Alexander Stirling Calder remind us of that heritage. As well as the absence of any likeness of anything or anyone resembling: "KING GEORGE WASHINGTON IV" For Mr. Washington was: "A Man Who Refused to BE KING!"
For further Reading and research see:
- The Arch when traffic was still allowed in the Square.
- Kurt Soller, Newsweek, “The Man who Would Be King” Oct. 8, 2008 (click on title for link)
- Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers, Knopf: NY, 2001. p. 120-161 (especially 124-127).
- http://www.newsweek.com/2008/10/07/the-man-who-would-be-king.html
Related Posts on this website:
- https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2010/05/11/new-york-washington-square-arch/
- https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2010/09/26/washington-square-nyc/
Video:
Here's an informative video on the nature of the
American "republic." While a bit harsh on its
characterization of 'democracy," it is well
worth watching.
TITLE: "A Republic if you can keep it."
LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGL8CiUtXF0
-
“Entertaining video, but this is a gross misrepresentation. The author doesn’t note, for example, that the U.S. Constitution replaced the catastrophic “limited government” under the Articles of Confederation, and that a desire to tax Americans directly & regulate interstate commerce were the two chief motivations behind the U.S. Constitution. The size & role of a government is not the issue; it is a government’s internal structure – its checks & balances – which are the key to its success. AboveAllNations 7 months ago”
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@AboveAllNations: The Constitution was one of strictly limited and enumerated powers. You need but read The Federalist Papers (authored by Madison, Jay, and Hamilton) to secure passage of the Constitution by the respective states) to understand that. A quick quote: “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” –James Madison, Federalist No. 45 – aliunde 7 months ago 7
Related Images:
The familiar George Washington in your wallet
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative by Artist C. Daughtrey is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
February 22nd marks the 279th Birthday of George Washington.
February 27th is the 145th Birthday of Hermon A. MacNeil.
The Arch in Washington Square Park, NYC, contains TWO separate sculptures of Mr. Washington. The presence of two distinct representations of this remarkable American rather than ONE, is remarkable.
So, why TWO statues? Well, the first statue created by Hermon A. MacNeil represented General Washington, as the soldier, the Commander of the Continental Army of the American Revolution. The second created by Stirling Calder portrayed Mr. Washington as the statesman, the President. BOTH sculptures are necessary to portray George Washington’s TWO essential roles in the creation and establishment of the American republic.
Throughout his entire career Washington (like his founding brothers and sisters) believed, worked, fought, governed, and served the ideals of a republic as the form of government for the United States. After the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked by a woman, “What form of government have you given us?” Franklin is said to have replied, “A Republic, ma’am, if you can keep it.” A Republic is can be defined as:
a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, retain supreme control over the government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic
At virtually every transition of his life, Washington assumed the power necessary to accomplish the next task, THEN gave that power back when the task was done. History notes that:
When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington
After the surrender of the British at Yorktown in the summer of 1781, Washington remained encamped with the skeletal Continental Army until the Treaty of Paris was ratified by King George III in September 1783. Before it was ratified by the Continental Congress in January 1784, Washington submitted a letter of resignation as Commanding general. He said in part:
[To the Continental Congress]
[Annapolis, Md. 23 December 1783]
Mr President
The great events on which my resignation depended having at length taken place; I have now the honor of offering my sincere Congratulations to Congress & of presenting myself before them to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the Service of my Country. …
I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my Official life, by commanding the Interests of our dearest Country to the protection of Almighty God, and those Who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping.
Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action—and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life.
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/revolution/resignation.html
Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington
Washington served two terms as president. "The main charge levied against Washington," according to Joseph J. Ellis, "was that he made himself into a quasi king." Yet history records that while England had King George III, the newly United States would NOT have a King George IV in George Washington. Mr W was: "The Man Who Refused to Be King!" TO BE CONTINUED in next post ...
Related Images:
Washington Square – NYC – Fiction and Reality
Posted by: | CommentsHermon A. MacNeil’s sculpture of George Washington on the Arch in Washington Square, Greenwich Village, has become a fixture in the background of New York City. That is a reality.
I recently saw a glimpse of the Arch over Will Smith’s shoulder during a race scene from the 2007 film “I Am Legend.” Smith plays Robert Neville, a character based on the apocalyptic novel of the same name by Richard Matheson. Washington Square provides the setting for 100s of New York scenes in the cinema. See forty popular examples HERE.
H. A. MacNeil's "Washington at War" framed by figures of "Fame" and "Valor" in the background balances the east side of the Arch in Washington Square while Alexander Stirling Calder's "Washington as President" graces the west side. Both sculptors studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 1890's and represent that art style.
In the nearly 100 years since its installation, MacNeil’s marble depiction of George Washington as Commander of the Continental Army has undergone acclaim, abuse, neglect, appreciation, decay, and finally in 2004, restoration. Fortunately, neither the statue or NYC have experienced the epidemic level of decay depicted in the disturbing “I am Legend” novel and film mentioned above. That novel was fiction. Repair of both MacNeil’s Washington and Calder’s Washington were part of the Arch restoration proposal of NYC Dept of Parks and Recreation. That part is reality. Renovations to the entire Park are ongoing. Citizens groups like the Washington Square Association and Friends of Washington Square Park help to lead the way.
The original MacNeil piece was added to the Arch twenty years after its initial construction in 1892. The artist accompanied his Washington with the allegorical figures of “Fame” and “Valor” in the background of the panel framing his work. Alexander Stirling Calder added the figures of “Wisdom” and “Justice” to his Washington as President on the west leg of the arch. Before the renovation LIFE magazine did a feature article on the weather-beaten figures.
Calder's "George Washington as President" as it appeared before restoration.
For a Video Tour and narration Greenwich Village, Washington Square, and the Arch with MacNeil’s Washington and the other sculptures (Calder, MacMonnies) see this MuseumPlanet site: http://www.museumplanet.com/tour.php/nyc/wv/15
For another view of MacNeil’s Washington as Commander-in-chief and an amazing virtual tour of the Washington Square Park and Greenwich area check out WorldFlicks also.
While decay and apocalyptic fears abound in every generation, we can be thankful for the good people of NYC, their Department of Parks and Recreation, and Citizens groups like the Washington Square Association and Friends of Washington Square Park for maintaining the heritage and beauty our everyday history as US citizens.
Visit this MacNeil Statue in Washington Square, Greenwich Village, New York City. Use the Google Map guide below for directions: —>
[mappress]
