It remains a rare material artifact of a fair centerpiece since lost to time, and a clue to the importance of her high-profile commission for American culture and Black artistry.
Standing at 16 feet in height and one of only two works by African American artists featured in the exhibition, Savage’s plaster sculpture took its name from James Weldon and J. Rosamond Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a hymn of particular meaning within Black communities. Savage modeled the piece after themes found in the song—unity, perseverance through faith, and pride, all of which are reflected in her musical scene. The harp’s form is defined by a long arm and hand cradling 12 singers in choir robes, their strong stance and the folds of their garments evocative of strings. A young man kneels in the lead holding sheet music and carrying a pensive expression on his face, uplifted (we imagine) by the beautiful melody and the image the eponymous hymn’s words recall.
“The Harp,” as it became known, was a major achievement for Savage. Born Augusta Christine Fells in Green Cove, Florida, February 29, 1892, she was raised by a Methodist minister who opposed her creative interests. Over her father’s objections, Savage returned again and again to sculpture throughout her youth and—after marrying, having a child, and becoming widowed by her early 20s—committed her focus to the arts and moved to New York City with less than $5 in her pocket. Savage quickly became a recognized talent in the art world and a vocal advocate for equal rights, generating media attention when an American selection committee revoked her award of a summer study-abroad scholarship to Paris because of her race. Defying these obstacles, Savage self-funded and completed a 4-year arts degree at The Cooper Union in 3 years, fundraised for her own trips to France to exhibit at prestigious sites like the Salon d’Automne and Grand Palais, and earned an array of accolades ranging from a Carnegie Foundation travel grant to the distinction of being the only African American member admitted into the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. By 1937, the 1939 New York World’s Fair Board of Design reached out to her with the idea of a large-scale sculpture symbolizing the legacy of African American music.
Though 44 million guests had the chance to witness and admire Savage’s triumph at the 19-month exhibition, unfortunately the work was destroyed when the fair ended, a scenario not uncommon for temporary works and pavilions. Promotional postcards and documentary photos like the one in McKay’s book, however, paint a picture of the song and sculpture’s true impact and continued resonance. Today, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is still widely celebrated as the “Black national anthem” (recently and memorably performed at “Beychella”) and metal replicas of Savage’s 1939 tribute—a testament to the inspirational power of the Black church and indomitable nature of the human spirit—are held in collections such as those of the Schomburg Center in Harlem and Columbus Museum in Georgia.
– Carlos Ascurra, FIU Humanities Edge curatorial intern
Archive for College Point
Hermon MacNeil’s “autobiographer,” Jim Haas, lectured and posed for sculpture Students
Posted by: | CommentsJames Haas has recently had a first-time experience of posing as a model. He did so at the
Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore,MD.
Jim has done many things, BUT THIS was a first.
He experienced sculpture from the other side.
He sent photos of his two picks from the sessions.
Jim says the second sculptor was a student named Ana. She is also a very talented painter. Born in Italy she came to America to study art. Were you to speak with her, you would hear not a trace of an Italian accent. A number of her paintings have been exhibited and her future looks bright.
The sculptor’s name is Dooree. She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in June. [Webmaster notes: This captures Jim in his familiar grin.]
Jim reflected about the sessions:
Having written and published a biography of American sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil, I have had a few occasions to mention the models he used for a number of his works. That being said, I had no real understanding of what being an artist’s model entailed. And then my friend Bob Copskey, professor of sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art asked if I would serve as the model for a portrait bust to be modeled by his students. I said “yes.”
Jim continues: … “on the appointed day one as I drove to the school, I will admit to experiencing some small amount of anxiety. While I knew I would be asked to assume a pose that would have to be maintained for a number of hours, I wondered if I would be able to stay in one position for that length of time, and what would I think about?”
He sent a photo of the whole class at the Maryland Institute College of Art:
“Returning the following week, the morning was spent with the students refining their work, the routine pretty much the same.
In the afternoon I once again gave a presentation on MacNeil followed by a review of the fifteen portrait busts during which I observed that I had never given much thought to what the back of my head looked like. Some students laughed. I enjoyed seeing every effort, a few from more experienced students standing out. Had it been possible I would have purchased one or two. Alas, the clay was remanded to the bins, but cell phone photos were taken … Sic transit gloria mundi.
Closeup of Dooree’s final sculpture of Jim Haas. [Webmaster notes: This captures Jim in his familiar grin.]
Portrait bust in clay by Ana from Italy studying in Maryland Institute College of Art
For More: Read Jim’s Reflections:
“Confessions of a First-Time Artist’s Model:
Having written and published a biography of American sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil, I have had a few occasions to mention the models he used for a number of his works. That being said, I had no real understanding of what being an artist’s model entailed. And then my friend Bob Copskey, professor of sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art asked if I would serve as the model for a portrait bust to be modeled by his students. I said yes and on the appointed day one as I drove to the school, I will admit to experiencing some small amount of anxiety. While I knew I would be asked to assume a pose that would have to be maintained for a number of hours, I wondered if I would be able to stay in one position for that length of time, and what would I think about?
Having given presentations about MacNeil to his students in past years, I was familiar with the studio and as it happened, had once been present to observe a model at work. At the time I did not take note of the revolving platform on which she sat, but as the session began, Bob explained that the centrally placed stage would be rotated slightly every couple of minutes. This would enable the students standing at their platforms circling the platform to have a 360 degree of my neck and head. “Call for a break at any time, assume a pose that is comfortable,” Bob directed, “and to the extent possible, maintain it by focusing on a specific floor to ceiling point. “No problem” says I and so the session began.
I watched as each student leaned into the bins to scrape the clay that would be applied, layer upon layer and bit by bit to the armature that would in time be transformed into their collective versions of yours truly. Never having sat in one position for so long a time, it was easier than I thought it would be and no breaks were taken. So, what went through my mind in the course of the two hours that followed?
For some, but not all, modeling a portrait bust was a new experience. Some were tentative; others set their minds and hands to the task at hand and, as expected, all took a turn at Prof. Copskey’s request, to “please turn the model.” As the first hour passed and much clay having been applied to their armatures, a number of students began to approach the stand to examine my head from every vantage point possible. I studiously avoided their prying eyes at the same time being curious as to what exactly they were trying to see and wondering if they would be able to retain their findings when they got back to their work stands.
Over the course of two and half hours, I had made two 360-degree revolutions around the room charting the progress of the fifteen artists noting what each of three males and twelve females did as they worked. Some had ear buds leading me to wonder if they were listening to music. One of them, a young lady, was very definitely dancing to the beat she was hearing, so I knew she was. As for the others, well, who’s to say? Common to all was the look of intent and purpose each wore as I looked at them and they looked back.
As I made my two revolutions, I watched and listened to the counsel given to each by Prof. Copskey, always encouraging, never without a positive suggestion based on many years of classroom teaching, he himself an accomplished sculptor and medalist. I thought “How fortunate they are!”
A welcome lunch break followed during which Bob asked how I thought the day was progressing, was I comfortable and other related questions. My truthful answer was that “Yes, I was very comfortable, that holding the suggested pose was not difficult, and that I was enjoying the whole experience more than I thought I would.”
Returning to the studio it did not surprise me to see the young artists already working the clay refining their version of their model’s head. Once again, I mounted the platform and retook what I thought was this morning’s pose, but was surprised when Bob, employing his many years of teaching made suggestions, very gently, that I adjust the tilt of my head ever so slightly, alter the expression on my face and as much as possible, focus my eyes and the level of my gaze as I had in the morning session. The afternoon session went well.
Returning the following week, the morning was spent with the students refining their work, the routine pretty much the same. In the afternoon I once again gave a presentation on MacNeil followed by a review of the fifteen portrait busts during which I observed that I had never given much thought to what the back of my head looked like. Some students laughed. I enjoyed seeing every effort, a few from more experienced students standing out. Had it been possible I would have purchased one or two. Alas, the clay was remanded to the bins, but cell phone photos were taken. Sic transit gloria mundi.”
Stay tuned for more …..
Visit Bob Copsky’s website here:
And Bob’s Gallery section here:
Related Images:
As mentioned in the previous post [on May 5, 2023] Savage applied for a summer art program at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in France.[9] She was accepted, BUT THEN rejected because she was BLACK.
Sculptor, Hermon Atkins MacNeil, wrote a letter of protest to W.E.B. Dubois, then Hermon invited Augusta to study with him. She later cited Hermon as one of her teachers.”
All of that took place in 1923,
THEN, 15 YEARS Later . . . the
1939 New York World’s Fair
premiered her work —
“The Harp”
OR
“Lift Every Voice and Sing”
HEAR THE HISTORY OF THE ANTHEM . . .
As you ~ ~
“Lift Up Your Voice, And Sing”
–
1939 WHITE WORKMAN landscape around the “HARP” as it towers above them. Source: The Body is Memory: An Exhibition of Black Women Artists. Retrieved on May 1, 2023 at [https://sites.smith.edu/afr111-f19/the-harp/ ]
SOURCES:
- “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_Every_Voice_and_Sing_(sculpture)#Replicas.
- Book page, “Sculpture by Augusta Savage, evocative of Negro music; commissioned by the New York World’s Fair,” from Harlem: Negro Metropolis, 1940
- Augusta Savage (American, 1892–1962), author
E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc., New York City, publisher
The Wolfsonian–FIU, Gift of Historical Design, New York City, XC2019.02.1.12- The Body is Memory: An Exhibition of Black Women Artists. Retrieved on May 1, 2023 at [https://sites.smith.edu/afr111-f19/the-harp/ ]
- Claude McKay, Harlem: Negro Metropolis, 1940. A narrative history of Harlem and its most notable African American residents. The book includes photographs of works by Black artist Augusta Savage in the early 20th century.
Related Images:
James E. Haas: Author & Historian of College Point
Posted by: | CommentsAbout the Author
James E. Haas is a fifth generation College Pointer and a graduate of St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY. He has written ten books, three on subjects related to the history of College Point. With a Masters Degree in Religious Education, Haas has written widely on church-related subjects, liturgy and prayer with and for children as well as religious education.
The biography has received glowing comments such as these from Andrew Walker:
James E. Haas tells a compelling story of a sculptor who made a tremendous, but underappreciated impact on the American cultural scene during his lifetime.The level of research is clearly a compassionate focus in a conventional biographical approach. MacNeil is not a Rodin or a Picasso where drama dictates his biography. Rather, his story reaches heights of dramatic impact in those decisions and efforts that charted the nations priorities and challenges.At times, this dramatic arc of MacNeil’s artistic activity is deeply connected to broader social and cultural life during times of change. MacNeil’s life after his experiences in the early 20th century continued as an expected life of a committed artist, and this biography does justice to his contributions, and his artistic achievement.Andrew Walker — Director, Amon Carter Museum of American Art. — Fort Worth, TX
To Honor Fallen Heroes: How a Small German-American Village in New York City Experienced the Great War (1)
Related Images:
Models of MacNeil Sculptures Rescued!
Posted by: | Comments
Alexander Hamilton plaster model (reverse) with de-assession tag at Swope Art Museum
Plaster models from the studio of
Hermon Atkins MacNeil
are returning to College Point thanks to.
(MacNeil biographer and College Point author)
Jim Haas, with help from Charlie Chiclacos, traveled to
Swope Art Museum
in Terre Haute, Indiana,
Jim Haas and Charlie Chiclacos, drove a rental van to Terre Haute last month to retrieve the pieces.
One rescued piece is the Adventurous Bowman model (1915). The final plaster stood atop the Column of Progress at the Pan-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco (See photos below)
“Column of Progress” with MacNeil’s “Adventurous Bowman” as the finial figure on top.
Adventurous Bowman model (1915). The final plaster stood atop the Column of Progress at the Pan-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco
Swope Art Museum received the remaining plaster models from the original MacNeil Studio before it was sold and demolished.
Hermon MacNeil served on the board there. His plaster of “The White Man Coming” has been displayed there for nearly a century. (See below)
“Coming of the White Man” original clay model 72 inches high at the Poppenhusen Institute in College Point, Queens, New York.
Related Images:
Hermon Atkins MacNeil: BIOGRAPHY Published !!!
Posted by: | CommentsAuthor and historian, James E. Haas has completed
“Hermon Atkins MacNeil:
American Sculptor
In the Broad, Bright Daylight”
Now
, Seventy-Five years after the sculptor’s death,
this definitive BIOGRAPHY is available.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Webmaster comments:
Our “Uncle Hermon,”
(who kept his gold and silver award medals in a drawer),
would be a little embarrassed
but modestly proud.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
James E. Haas
This is Haas’ sixth book. All his works are rooted in the history of College Point.
James Haas grew up there in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. He learned as a boy that the twenty-five cent pieces that made a home in his pocket, were designed by a former neighbor named Hermon A. MacNeil.
The MacNeil’s built their Studio on the northern shore of College Point in 1902. The community was an easily defined peninsula on the East River, Burrough of Queens, in New York City.
Listening and hearing tales of the generations of residents before him, Jim’s “young boy fascination” was stirred by conversations of local people and lore. As an adult he chose to capture those sagas into words. Jim distilled his writings with research and collaboration about his College Point roots and history.
Two recurring of names woven through many stories were Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Carol (“Carrie”) Brooks MacNeil. Their involvement in the Village’s efforts supporting the Great War “piqued” an additional interest in the couples service. Now in his sixth volume, Haas puts this pair (the husband-wife sculptor team) in focus at center stage.
The 20 plus chapters form a chronology of the life and works of Hermon and Carrie MacNeil. The research is thorough and thoughtful. He is a heart-felt historian of his home town roots. His story telling is as encompassing as their global accomplishments.
Cecelia MacNeil, Hermon’s widow credited the following statement to Adolph Block:
“… all that Hermon Atkins MacNeil lacks to acquire fame is a good biographer.”
Adolph Block should know. He too was a sculptor ~ (more) and a student of MacNeil
All that Hermon MacNeil lacked
was a Good Biographer
But NOW in 2022
Hermon Atkins MacNeil’s BIOGRAPHY
is Published
And James E. Haas is his “Good Biographer”
Postscript by Webmaster:
HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com/ [ HAM ]
Until 2010 the works of Hermon MacNeil had no central “Gathering Point” in the virtual world of digitized communication.
This website was created as a convergence for searches about
Hermon MacNeil.
Since 2010 this website has cornered the market on
Color images and vignettes of the
LIVES AND WORKS of Hermon and Carol MacNeil.
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/ has added to their FAME
BUT
No one CHRONOLOGICAL STORY of the MacNeils is presented here.
NOW
THIS VOLUME BY JAMES HAAS HAS CREATED A
Thorough, Painstaking, Detailed, Systematic, Telling
that this American Sculptor has needed
for the last 75 years.
SO ENJOY !
! ! ! !
“… all that Hermon Atkins MacNeil lacks to acquire fame is a good biographer.”
. . . . . . .
FOR MORE BOOKS BY JIM HAAS GO TO:
https://www.amazon.com/ And Enter a Search for: james e. haas
Related Images:
Guess Where Hermon MacNeil Keep his Award Medals?
Posted by: | CommentsThe previous post of June 30 told of the
RE-APPEARANCE of Hermon MacNeil’s 0wn
“Personal 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter” in 2022
While that re-appearance may have surprised the numismatic community,…
to this researcher of MacNeil’s life the disappearance of that original specimen was no surprise .
In 1907 Jean Stansbury Holden wrote an article on “The Sculptors MacNeil.” I discovered her article a dozen years ago when I started www.hermonatkinsmacneil.com/ .
Postcard of MacNeil studio in College Point. From the webmaster’s collection.
Jean Holden traveled to the College Point home and studio of the MacNeils. She interviewed Hermon and Carol MacNeil as sources for her piece.
Among the many observations, she exposed Hermon’s habit of “squirreling away” his award medals in a studio drawer.
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 then off some of the tarnish before showing them TRULY without Pretension or POMP.
SO … what is the likelihood that his “Personal 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter” spent 30+ years — probably in that same drawer with those many other award medals?
She captured his unassuming nature 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 …
“It is said that one morning when the Alban Hills showed white a-top, he stripped off his student blouse, hurried to the summit of the highest hill, filled his lungs with cold air, rolled a snowball, then returned with renewed enthusiasm to dusty Rome and the study of the past.” P-9409
Unpretentious…
Unassuming …
without pomp or guile …
What you see is what you get …
The genuine article …
A real human being …
All are qualities beyond any
Medal of Award!
SOURCES:
- Holden, Jean Stansbury (October 1907). “The Sculptors MacNeil“. The World’s Work: A History of Our Time XIV: 9403–9419.
Related Images:
Hooded Sweatshirts given to CPN Volunteers have this logo map of College Point on the backs. This year, 2022, marks the 20th year of CPNs service along the East River shore between the parks. For 50 years Hermon and Carol MacNeil’s home and studio was located above the “C” in “College Point.” Thanks for your “housekeeping”, CPN Volunteers.
Coastal Preservation Network (CPN)
Kathryn Cervino reports that College Point volunteers have been cleaning, planting, and beautifying Hermon MacNeil Park since 2002.
“Uncle Hermon” would be Sooo… proud.
The MacNeil Medallion marks the 150th Anniversary of his birth. Available on eBay.
They periodically scour the shore line of the East River in between MacNeil Park and Powell’s Cove Park, raking, planting, collecting trash, plastic, and any debris that threaten the life, beauty, and enjoyment of College Pointers along this public shoreline of the River.
To honor the work of CPN Volunteers, 25 MacNeil Medallions were given to Kathryn Cervino, president of CPN to distribute to her Volunteers at College Point.
1
A quartet of smiling College Point Volunteers show off their Hermon MacNeil souvenir Medallions during an afternoon of “polishing” the shoreline.
Kat Cervino (lt) with a proud CPN Volunteer show off their MacNeil Medallions in Hermon MacNeil Park.
CPN logo of 20 anniversary sweatshirts
Related posts:
- MacNeil Park ~ A Call for Sculpture Proposals. Thanks Kathryn Cervino! (4) oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo MacNeil Park: Portico to the East River 156 Candles…
- MacNeil Park – College Point, Queens, NY (2) Hermon A. MacNeil Park in College Point, Queens, offers 29-acre…
- Another “Chief of the Multnomah” Has Appeared in the East. (2) There is another “Chief of the Multnomah.” Today I received…
- MacNeil “Merry Christmas” (2) Christmas Greetings from the home of Hermon and Carol MacNeil. …
- Jo Davidson (cont.) in the MacNeil Atlier (2) Jo Davidson continues the narrative of his adventures working in…
- “Hermon and Jo” ~~ Story #1 ~~ For MacNeil Month ~ February 2021 ~~ (2) Jo Davidson started as a “studio boy” for…
Related Images:
MacNeil Park ~ A Call for Sculpture Proposals. Thanks Kathryn Cervino!
Posted by: | Commentsoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
MacNeil Park: Portico to the East River
156 Candles
On the 156th anniversary of Hermon MacNeil’s Birth
February 27, 2022
updated April 7, 2022
by the ‘Revised Call for Proposals’
(changes high-lighted in yellow)
Kathryn Cervino of College Point has been an activist and advocate for
Hermon A. MacNeil Park for 20 years.
[CLICK HERE for History of MacNeil Park as posted in 2010]
Children and adults planting sea grass and restoring vitality and beauty to the East River shoreline along MacNeil Park (2010). Source: CPN at https://www.coastalpreservation.org/
Kat Cervino
Kathryn Cervino’s organization, the Coastal Preservation Network has created systematic events and programs for the cleaning, preserving and keeping of this historic shoreline along the East River. Teaching and advocating value and heritage of this historic piece of coastal NYC has been a passion that Kat Cervino has lived out and rooted in the neighborhood citizens of College Point.
Bottles, debris, plastic trash have plagued the shoreline of MacNeil Park. Here teams of volunteers restore a beauty and pride in their neighborhood that has transformed this patch is river coastline. Source: CPN at https://www.coastalpreservation.org/
The 2022 project has secured a Grant to create a:
Site-specific SCULPTURE
of recycled plastic the artist choice of materials
and designed by a
a New York City or Massachusetts based artist.
A location in the center of Hermon A. MacNeil Park has been chosen as the site for this artwork to further beautify College Point and heighten enjoyment of the neighborhood.
Below is Page One of the newly Revised Call for Proposals. (Revisions are highlighted in YELLOW -April 6, 2022). For complete Eligibility, Timeline, Application, Awarding, and Background GO TO:
Coastal Preservation Network website HERE
Coastal Preservation Network
Public Art Grant 2022
Introduction (page one)
Being launched this year for Coastal Preservation Network’s 20 th anniversary, the Coastal
Preservation Network Public Art Grant supports the creation of a site–specific sculpture by a
New York– or Massachusetts–based artist for a designated hilltop location within Hermon A.
MacNeil Park in College Point, Queens. This waterfront park is named after a renowned
American sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866–1947). This grant will help transform the park
into an art destination in his honor. Funded by CPN, the grantee will receive an award of
$1,000.00 toward creation of their proposed artwork.
Previously known as Chisholm’s Park and College Point Shore Front Park, the 28–acre parcel
on the East River was renamed in 1966 on the 100th anniversary of sculptor MacNeil’s birth.
Mayor John Lindsay signed his first local law to rename the park for MacNeil, whose home and
art studio were adjacent to the park. Proposed sculpture can be constructed using the artist’s
choice of materials and should depict a theme of nature. Examples include but are not limited
to: wildlife found in the park (squirrels, seagulls); marine life found in the adjacent East River
and/or Flushing Bay water bodies (fish, horseshoe crabs, oysters); the water itself.Location
The installation will be sited on the highest hill in MacNeil Park, in the park’s center, on the
paved area next to the flagpole. This location offers sweeping vistas of the East River to the
North and Flushing Bay to the west. The flagpole marks the former spot of the Chisholm family
mansion, which Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia used as his summer residence in 1937. Under the
direction of Robert Moses, the mansion was razed between 1939 and 1941 to create a public
park. Artists are strongly encouraged to visit MacNeil Park before submitting a proposal.
More information on sculptor MacNeil can be found on the Hermon A. MacNeil blog at
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/. More information on MacNeil Park can be found on the NYC
Parks website at https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/macneil–park and on the Coastal
Preservation Network website at https://www.coastalpreservation.org/?page_id=45.Timeline
April 5, 2022: Call for proposals
May 17, 2022: Proposal deadline
June 4, 2022: Award recipient announced
Fall 2022: Artwork installed in parkEligibility
This award is open to artists in New York and Massachusetts. MacNeil was born and educated
in Massachusetts. He worked/lived in College Point, Queens, and during his career taught at
Cornell University in Ithaca, The Art Students League of New York in Manhattan and Pratt
Institute in Brooklyn.
Artists who are eligible will have specialized training in their field (not necessarily gained in an
academic institution), who are at an early or mid–stage in their career, and who have created a
modest independent body of work. Proposals for previously exhibited sculptures will not be
accepted.
CLICK HERE to go to 5 PAGE PROPOSAL at CPN site.
Source credits: All photos retrieved from CPN
Photo Credits
SOURCE: All Photos property of Coastal Preservation Network [retrieved from https://www.coastalpreservation.org/ on February 27, 2022]
Related posts:
- MacNeil Park – College Point, Queens, NY (3) Hermon A. MacNeil Park in College Point, Queens, offers 29-acre…
- MacNeil “Merry Christmas” (2) Christmas Greetings from the home of Hermon and Carol MacNeil….
- Jo Davidson (cont.) in the MacNeil Atlier (2) Jo Davidson continues the narrative of his adventures working in…
- “Hermon and Jo” ~~ Story #1 ~~ For MacNeil Month ~ February 2021 ~~ (2) Jo Davidson started as a “studio boy” for…
Related Images:
Happy Birthday Hermon A. MacNeil ~ The 156th Anniversary of February 27, 1866 ~
Posted by: | Comments
Hermon & Carol MacNeil, Carol’s sister Alice & husband, Wilbur Maher visited in 1904. (Site was the old side steps off of Northern Boulevard at the MacNeil Home in College Point, Queens, New York City) (Photo courtesy of Joel Rosenkranz, NYC)
Related Images:
October 2, 1947 ~ Hermon A. MacNeil dies at 81
Posted by: | CommentsHERMON ATKINS MACNEIL
1945 Bust of Hermon MacNeil by Jo Davidson
Photo from ~1945 at MacNeil Cabin in Vermont
TRANSITIONS
On this day seventy-four years ago, Hermon Atkins MacNeil died at his College Point Studio on October 2, 1947.
The Photo at right (taken at the MacNeil Cabin in Vermont) and the Bust by Jo Davidson) both date from about 1945, just two years before his death.
The website CHICAGO LOOP.ORG celebrates architecture in the Windy City. They tell the MacNeil story this way: 1
“Unable to transition from his Beaux Arts training to a more “modern” style, he had not had a major commission for nearly 15 years. 1 When he died, the contents of the studio was “hauled out to the dump” (where, much of the collection was salvaged by neighbor, illustrator John A. Coughlin who later donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.) It hadn’t always been that way.” [See Note 1 Below] http://chicagosculptureintheloop.blogspot.com/2012/01/hermon-atkins-macneil.html
One of several “Black Pipe” modelings that MacNeil sculpted. ~1894
They continue to say: “In 1891, 25 year-old MacNeil came West to Chicago. Where he assisted Philip Martiny with sculpture at the Electricity Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition (World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893). And, where, on the Midway, he met Black Pipe, an Ogala Sioux, performing at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Native Americans and their culture became the inspiration for MacNeil’s art for years to come. By late 1895 he was on his way to Monument Valley with Hamlin Garland and C.F. Browne — after working with Edward Kemeys at the Marquette (and no doubt hearing stories of Kemeys Wyoming adventures some 20 years earlier). The travels West were just the beginning.
On Christmas Day 1895 after winning the Prixe de Rome, he married Carol (Carrie) Brooks (one of Lorado Taft’s “White Rabbits – and a sculptor in her own right”). They sailed to Europe to take up three years in residence at the American Academy in Rome. And re-entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1900. By 1901 he and Carol (with their two children) returned to America and established their studio in College Point on Long Island. With an entire career before them.
To quote Chicago Architecture, “National in scope, Beaux Arts in inspiration, MacNeil returned to Chicago in 1909, briefly, for the Cook County Seal Commission.”
Hermon MacNeil ~ Seal of Cook County on the Courthouse ~ 1908
But my favorite remains his Four Panels of Father Marquette life scuplted in 1895 in Chicago. “Where inspiration, youth, opportunity, and a beautiful, capable wife converged with the past and the future —
at the Marquette Building.”
Panel 4 – “The de Profundis was intoned … Fr. Marquette’s coffin carried.
Black Pipe, Sioux warrior from Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, stranded after the 1893 World’s Fair closed. MacNeil took him in to his studio after he was desolate in Chicago.
The man front and center is Black Pipe. (See detail at right).
He is MacNeil’s model for the Ogalla Sioux Warrior memorialized at 140 South Dearborn Street. Bearing the coffin of Father Marquette.
See the entire collection of Marquette photos at the CHICAGO LOOP.ORG
Originally Posted by chicagoandpointsnorth@gmail.com
Black Pipe lived at MacNeil’s studio, modeled for him, and worked as a gardener and assisted in tasks.
MacNeil’s bronze of Blackpipe, a Sioux warrior he befriended in 1893 (source Smithsonian Archives)
NOTE 1:
- The comment “Unable to transition from his Beaux Arts training to a more “modern” style, he had not had a major commission for nearly 15 years.” is not entirely accurate. The “15 years” comment ignores the following: 1) two statues (Alfred H. Terry and John Sedgwick) on Connecticut Capitol building in 1934; 2) the statue of George Rogers Clark at the National Monument in Vincennes, Indiana dedicated by President FDR in 1936; and 3) the Pony Express Monument in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1940. It also overlooks 8 years of the Great Depression, plus 7 years of MacNeil’s retirement during those same fifteen years. Furthermore, the word “unable” seems presumptuous. Whether MacNeil was “unable” to transition or simply “chose not to transition” to a more modern style seems a false dilemma for speculatation. His sixty-plus-years of sculpting in the Beaux Arts style fully documents his “able-ity” and his preference for creative expression. This website offers continual documentation of those abilities.
Related posts:
- Part 2: “Primitive Indian Music” ~ 1894 bronze casting discovered! Is this an early prototype of 1901 “Primitive Chant to the Great Spirit.” ??? (6) A recent inquiry from James Dixon has revealed a previously…
- “Chicago Sculpture in the Loop” features Hermon A. MacNeil’s Work at Marquette Building (5) Gregory H. Jenkins has posted stories of the Marquette Bronze…
- Hermon MacNeil Sculpture in the Chicago Loop (5) Gregory H. Jenkins AIA, Chicago architect and keeper of the …
- ~ ~ ~ “The Most Happy Young Man I Know” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Hermon A. MacNeil ~ Success & Marriage! (5) 1895 Hermon Atkins MacNeil, American Sculptor (1866-1947) MacNeil’s bronze of…
- “PRIMITIVE INDIAN MUSIC” ~ Part 3: 1894 Eda Lord’s Ticket to the Chicago World’s Fair (5) Eda Lord, (the woman who purchased the MacNeil bronze statue,…
- MacNeil “Merry Christmas” (5) Christmas Greetings from the home of Hermon and Carol MacNeil. …
Related Images:
“Hermon and Jo” ~~ Story #1 ~~ For MacNeil Month ~ February 2021 ~~
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Jo Davidson, Sculptor, 1937
Hermon A. MacNeil sketch by Charles D. Daughtrey.
Jo Davidson
started as a
“studio boy” for
Hermon MacNeil
in 1903.
NOW,
February 2021
MacNeil Month
will showcase …
FOUR Stories of
“Hermon and Jo”
from their nearly fifty years of friendship.
PLUS A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY
UNVEILING on February 27th !!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
STORY # 1
Jo Davidson ~ begins here …
From his late teen-years to his mid twenties,
Jo appears as a talented, outgoing, vagabond.
A vagabond can be defined as …
- an itinerant, a wanderer, a nomad,
- a wayfarer, a traveler, a gypsy
- a person who wanders
- from place to place
- without a home or job.
“I was born on New York’s lower East Side and the memories of early youth are vague and shadowy. I remember long, dark halls, crowded tenements, strange sour smells, drab unpainted walls and moving — we were always moving. … we were exceedingly poor and often didn’t have enough to eat.” * Between Sittings, p. 3.Samantha Baskind tells Jo’s story this way: Davidson was born in the ghetto of New York’s Lower East Side to immigrant parents who had fled the Russian pogroms. Encyclopaedia Judaica.[ def.: pogroms: ethnic cleansing, persecutions, massacres, exterminations, slaughter …]
“Father had beautiful eyes, a long white beard, and the face of a prophet. I can still see him moving about the house almost like a spirit. He was always praying and a sign of affection from him was a rarely given luxury.” * Between Sittings, p. 3. and Joel Rosenkranz, Rediscoveries…, p. 11.
Jo went with his Father, Jacob, to synagogue on Saturdays, but kept out of his way for fear of offending him. When he asked “where did Cain get his wife?” his Father father smacked him down by stating that “with God everything is possible.”
“No one was ever to know for certain what it was that Jacob Davidson thought that having a son meant. Whatever it was, it was obvious — almost right away — that Jo was unlike anyone his father had expected. In Fact, Jo was like no one else. He asked far to many questions. He made pictures of everything he saw. He was so filled with life and laughter that everyone around him responded to it. Everybody — everything — small or large — interested Jo.! It was a good thing for a boy that his mother, Haya, understood him completely. ” [ Kuhn, The World of Jo Davidson, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1958. p. 4.]
“She was tiny, energetic, practical, the one on whom the whole family leaned. The Davidson’s were exceedingly poor and often didn’t get enough to eat. She would distract the family from their hunger with her wonderful story telling of her past life in Russia, her grandfather who adored her and raised her, and their father’s family filled with scholars and rabbis.” Between Sittings, p. 3,
“It is curious how little I remember of my school days. I was always in a dream, vague and lazy. I understand now — being underfed, I wanted to sleep all the time.Yet for all their poverty, Jo recalls the touch of “a warm glow which came from my mother (Haya) and sisters (Nancy, Rachel, and Rose) who surrounded me with love and affection.”Between Sittings, p. 3, 6. And Joel Rosenkranz, Rediscovderies
For some time, Jo’s family thought he should become a doctor. So he was sent to New Haven moved in with his sister, Nancy, and her husband, David, a graduate of Yale Medical School. In between cramming for Regents’ exam, Jo befriended Randall the college photographer. He loaned Jo a photograph of Dr. Arthur Hadley, of Yale University. Jo began using his skills to make a burnt wood portrait of the new president. When Jo finished, Randall displayed it in his storefront window. The next morning Jo returned to the store to find a crowd of people looking in the window at his portrait. It was marked “sold.” Jo got a check for $25.
The buyer, Mr. Pardee, requested that Jo visit him in his office. Seeing the sketchbook in Jo’s pocket, Pardee asked to examine it, then requested permission to show two drawing to the head of the art school. On seeing the sketches, Professor Neimeyer invited him to come and work in the Art School — tuition free — saying, “We are glad to have young men of talent.” So Jo began drawing a live model with other Art School students. Eventually he sketched the model from so many angles that he tired and lost interest. Taking a break, he roved through the building. He found a basement room full of plaster casts and modeling stands, and he walked in.
Jo finds CLAY and “touches the rest of his life … ”
“I found the clay bin, put my hand in it, and touched the rest of my life. The cool wet stuff gave me a thrill that I had never before experienced.”
He began building clay on a stand, copying a mask of Saint Francis nearby. He lost track of time, then was startled when he realized the modeling instructor, Mr. Boardman, was standing behind him. The instructor asked how long Jo had studied modeling. Jo said this was the first time he had touched clay.
“He did not seem to believe me, which gave me the feeling it was not too bad. We talked for a long time and the result was that I decided to chuck medicine and take up sculpture.” Jo asked who taught sculpture and was given the name of Hermon A. MacNeil. Between Sittings, p. 8-10.
Hermon MacNeil ~ enters Jo’s life …
JO finds Hermon MacNeil and his College Point Studio. 
“By 1903, with his flirtation with a medical career ended, Jo was back in New York working as an assistant in sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil’s studio.” RosenKranz, p. 11.
PHASE ONE ~ Jo and Hermon: A previous story on this website tells the next phase the story
CLICK HERE to read the whole saga as Jo described it, 50 years later after Hermon’s death. Jo relates meeting Hermon, asking for a job, getting turned down, bargaining for pay from a Scotsman … [click link for More]
PHASE TWO ~ Jo and Hermon WORKING in the MacNeil Atlier with Henri Crenier and John Gregory as the studio boy . => CLICK HERE for full story …
OR JUST READ JO’S ‘PUNCH-LINE’ TO THE STORY BELOW –
Jo FUNNY STORY concludes: “Henri Crenier took a special delight in teasing me. I liked him and took it good-naturedly. But one day I lost my temper and we came to blows. I knocked him down and relieved my feelings by giving him a healthy pummeling. I was so busy that I did not hear MacNeil come into the studio. Suddenly I heard him say: “Jo, when you get through, will you mix me a little plaster.”
Hermon MacNeil outside his Studio about 1945. [Courtesy of Kenilworth Historical Society & Joel Rosenkranz. Photo by: Violet Wyld
Jo Davidson (about 1922)
NOTE THIS WELL:
HERMON’S INTERVENTION: MacNeil did not scold. He did not raise his voice. He did not even tell Jo to stop, for he probably saw the teasing and taunting that the young 18-year-old had taken from the other Assistants, Henri and John. In essence he said,
“When you feel you are sufficiently through pummeling Henri Crenier, (my master assistant), would you mix me a little plaster.” Jo must have found Hermon to be quiet a contrast to his Father whose “signs of affection were rarely given luxuries” Fifty years later Jo tells the above story in his biography, then concludes with: “The summer passed quickly. Those were rich and full days. I was sure of my vocation. I was going to be a sculptor.”l
“Rich and full, the “sculptor to be” went on searching the world for another decade to develop his own style and skills as a sculptor. Then in the next 40 years, Jo Davidson shaped portrait busts of over a hundred world famous people. BUT the kindness of Hermon MacNeil seemed to be a pleasant memory.
MORE “HERMON & JO” STORIES TO COME … on Feb 8th
#2 The Wanderer & The Monument Maker
~~~~
NOTES:
- Jo Davidson, Between Sittings: an informal autobiography of Jo Davidson. Dial Press: New York, 1951. PP. 3.
- Connor, Janis and Joel Rosenkranz, photographs by David Finn, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893 – 1939, University of Texas Press, Austin TX 1989.
SOURCES:
- Jo Davidson, Between Sittings: an informal autobiography of Jo Davidson. Dial Press: New York, 1951. PP. 3-16.
- TIME, “Political Notes: Glamor Pusses.” VOL. XLVIII, No. 11, September 9, 1946. pp
- Connor, Janis and Joel Rosenkranz, photographs by David Finn, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893 – 1939, University of Texas Press, Austin TX 1989.
-
Jo Davidson, (1883-1952). Jewish Virtual Library: a project of AICE. Source: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jo-davidson. recovered on Jan 11, 2021.
Related Images:
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..
Related Images:
2020
~~ SLQ ~~ Part One ~~
In September 2019 the cover story of the Numismatist
featured a superb story
by Edward Van Orden
entitled,
an Introduction to the Standing Liberty Quarter”
CLICK HERE or Above for full Article
Credit: ANA Museum Photo / Robert B. Kelley (Screenshot by Webmaster on 3-5-2020)
SLQ Article: The Numismatist Sept ‘19
Edward Van Orden describes the Standing Liberty quarter dollar by saying:
“Eversince it first appeared in circulation in January 1917, the Standing Liberty quarter (SLQ) has been considered among the most beautiful U.S. coins ever produced. Its historically symbolic and sculptural design played a vital role in elevating the artistry of U.S. silver coinage.
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative sketched by Artist Charles D. Daughtrey as the seventh work in his Series of Coin Designers is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
Crafted by American sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947), this iconic image of Liberty was the winning entry in a contest that drew upward of 50 submissions. An artist of some renown, MacNeil designed the east pediment of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., and sculpted a rendering of General George Washington for the Washington Square Arch in New York’s Greenwich Village. MacNeil’s Liberty spoke to the movement in American numismatics initiated in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt and preeminent sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. In the spirit of Saint-Gaudens’ double eagle (gold $20)and
Victor D. Brenner’s Lincoln cent designs, – the quarter found its renaissance, boasting a style hearkening back to antiquity that intertwined artisan form with transactional function
At a time when most of Europe was actively engaged in the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson, elected on a peace platform in 1916, was biding our country’s time before directly involving the United States militarily. It was against this backdrop that the Standing Liberty quarter was unveiled to an eager public.
Robert W Wollery, Director of US Mint 1915-1916
The design fittingly reflected America’s increasing global involvement, epitomized by Miss Liberty’s confident, forward movement, holding a shield in her left hand for protection and an olive branch in her right for peace. Our nation, for the most part, desired peace but was prepared to defend itself and its way of life. In the words of Mint Director Robert W. Woolley in July 1916, the design seemed to typify “the awakening interest of the country in its own protection.”
FOR CONTINUED ARTICLE VIEW HERE
To be Continued … Come back for MORE ….
~~~~~~~~~~~
SOURCES used by Van Orden for his article:
Benford, Timothy B., Jr. “MacNeil’s Liberty: Art or Obscenity?” The Numismatist (December 2003).
Brothers, Eric. “New York City: Mecca of Numis- matic Artistry.” The Numismatist (November 2013). Cline, J.H. Standing Liberty Quarters, 3rd edition.
Palm Harbour, FL: author, 1997.
Dolnick, Michael M. “Design Changes on the Lib-
erty Standing Quarter.” The Numismatist (Septem- ber 1954).
Doyle, Al. “Class of 1916, Part 2.” The Numismatist (October 2016).
____. “MacNeil’s Standing Liberty Quarter among Most Artistic.” Coin World’s Coin Values (November 2004).
Duffield, Frank G. “Slight Change in the Die of Quarter Dollars.” The Numismatist (June 1926).
Kelman, Keith N. Standing Liberty Quarters. Nashua, NH: International Numismatica Corporation, 1976. (ANA Library Catalog No. GB24.K4) .
LaMarre, Tom. “MacNeil’s Standing Liberty Remains a Favorite.” Coins magazine (September 30, 2009).
Lange, David W. “The Coinage of 1921.” The Numismatist (December 2003).
____. “Collecting Standing Liberty Quarters.” The Numismatist (December 2003).
____. “The Impossible Dream.” The Numismatist (October 2005).
____. “1923-S Coinage, Part 2.” The Numismatist (September 2011).
____. “The Standing Liberty Quarter.” The Nu- mismatist (July 2016).
Moran, Michael F. Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt Augus- tus Saint-Gaudens. Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2008. (GB40.M6s)
Sieber, Arlyn G. “Images of Liberty.” The Numis- matist (July 2016).
Woolley, Robert W. “Symbolism of the New Coins of 1916.” Report of the Director of the Mint (July 15, 1916).
Related Images:
Jo Davidson (cont.) in the MacNeil Atlier
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“The Coming of the White Man in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon. This photo shows the legs of the Indian on the left which Jo Davidson painfully modeled in plaster casts. The title is sculpted into the base. The whole group sits on a boulder that MacNeil crafted for the setting from a granite quarry up the Columbia River granite. The granite came to the Park by barge. Then, a team of horses brought it up the hillside, all under MacNeil’s direction and supervision
Jo Davidson continues the narrative of his adventures working in the Studio of Hermon MacNeil:
Besides being a gardener, a sculptor’s assistant and an errand boy, I also became a model. Henri Crenier had noticed my legs one day while we were swimming and insisted they were just right for the young Indian in ‘The Coming of the White Man.’ MacNeil thought he could save time by making a plaster cast of my legs.
So Gregory and Crenier volunteered to do the job, claiming to be experts in casting from life. I was innocent and did not realize what I was up against. I was rather hairy, and they rather haphazardly rubbed the oil over my legs. That done, they covered my legs with plaster, and as the plaster set, the string that was to separate the two halves of the mold broke. Their fun increased as my temper rose, but I was in plaster up to my loins and was helpless. After setting the plaster became very hot and disagreeable. Mr. Gregory and Mr. Crenier chopped gleefully away, separating the two parts. Having completed that part of the job to their satisfaction, they proceeded to take the mold off my legs. The pain was excruciating, for the hair got mixed up with the plaster and as they pulled the mold off of me my hair went with it. I screamed and swore at them, but my anger only made them laugh louder. They finally got the mold off, leaving my legs like two boiled lobsters. The cast turned out to be a very hairy one. I saw those legs many years later in MacNeil’s studio, and I swear they were hairier than ever!
Henri Crenier took a special delight in teasing me. I liked him and took it good-naturedly. But one day I lost my temper and we came to blows. I knocked him down and relieved my feelings by giving him a healthy pummeling. I was so busy that I did not hear MacNeil come into the studio. Suddenly I heard him say: “ Jo, when you get through, will you mix me a little plaster.”
The summer passed quickly. Those were rich and full days. I was sure of my vocation. I was going to be a sculptor.”
Jo Davidson
Thus in his own words, Jo Davidson recounts becoming the unwitting model for the legs of this younger Indian.
Jo Davidson sculpting a young Frank Sinatra. (1946) – http://www.highlands-gallery.com/jo-davidson
The plaster casts were made on his very hairy legs. It proved a painful adventure for the naive teen. Humored by the absurd scene, the “experienced” sculptors laughed at his embarrassment and discomfort as they removed the plaster casts with his leg hair embedded.
Despite the teasing, Jo Davidson went on to study sculpture, develop his talents, and find his unique place as a sculptor doing what he loved.
Related Images:
Jo Davidson – A young artist describes the MacNeil Studio in College Point.
Posted by: | Comments2017
The MacNeil Studio no longer stands. In it’s nearly fifty years beside the East River Sound, many sculptor assistants, sculptures, and models of works were shaped in that place.
Postcard of MacNeil studio in College Point. From the webmaster’s collection.
This postcard and the Christmas card of 1912, posted on December 22, 2016, show the exterior of the studio. Pictures of the inside of MacNeil’s studio are rare.
However, one word picture offers a captivating account from about 1902-1903. (Jo Davidson, Between Sittings, Dial Press: New York, 1941).
As an 18 year-old struggling artist, Jo Davidson aspired to become a sculptor. (http://www.highlands-gallery.com/jo-davidson)
Though young, he was outgoing, naively confident, and very determined. In his autobiography he shares a fascinating encounter with Hermon MacNeil. Davidson gives a vivid description of both of MacNeil’s studios on Fifty-fifth Street and in College Point. Davidson eventually went on to become a renowned portrait sculptor of over 250 world leaders. See him below sculpting a bust of General Eisenhower nearly fifty years later. However, his initial impressions upon MacNeil were much less inspiring. Davidson recounts their meeting with understated humor:
Jo Davidson making a bust of General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1948) SOURCE: Laurant Davidson ( http://www.highlands-gallery.com/jo-davidson )
“On my first visit to New York, I went to the Art Students League and inquired who taught the sculpture class. I was told Herman [sic] A. MacNeil. They gave me his address, the Holbein Studios over the stables on West Fifty-fifth Street. I went to call on him to see if I could get a job in his studio. He asked me whether I had ever done any modeling, and remembering Mister Broadman’s encouragement, I told him I had. MacNeil looked at me quizzically and said, ‘I have to go out for a bit.’ He handed me a blueprint, saying, “ See what you can do with this,’ and took me to a stand piled up with plasticine – the beginning of a Corinthian capital. Then Mac Neil left.”
“I had never seen a blueprint before in my life. I tried to figure it out, but it was hopeless. I looked around the studio. There were bronze statuettes of Indians; scale models of monuments; photographs of executed work; and some portrait heads. I was fascinated and impressed. I made up my mind to get a job with that man.”
“I struggled with my Corinthian capital but got nowhere. In the midst of this Mr. MacNeil returned. He looked at the sorry mess I had made of his model, shook his head and asked, ‘How much do you expect to earn in a week?’”
“I meekly suggested fifteen dollars.
He said, ‘Young man, you will never make that at sculpture.’
I asked him what he would give me, taking for granted that a job was there for me. He was taken unawares and said, ‘Six dollars a week.’ I accepted. He looked defeated and said, ‘All right, Come in Monday morning.’”
“I went home elated and told my people I had found a job in a great sculptor’s studio. Though they did not approve, I think they caught my enthusiasm; I could hardly wait for Monday morning. At the appointed time, I rang the studio bell. The door opened and Mr. MacNeil stuck his head out of the door scowling.
‘I’ve thought it over,’ he said. ‘You are not worth it.’
I followed him into the studio.
‘What am I worth?’ I asked
‘Four dollars.’
‘All right, I’ll take it’
He gave up. ‘All right, you go to my studio in College Point, Long Island and see Mr. [John] Gregory. Tell him you are the new studio boy.’
The ride was long and expensive, a carfare, a ferry and another carfare I arrived at the MacNeil house, which was on the Sound, in Long Island, and finally found Mr. Gregory
Mr. Gregory was rather brusque: ‘Come on, hang up your things,’ he said, and he introduced me to Henri Crenier, the master sculptor.”
Davidson goes on to describe the MacNeil Studio and his early experiences there. His word picture shares some similarities of old Smithsonian archive photos. 
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)
“The studio was a huge barn of a place or, so it appeared to me then. It was full of work in progress. There was the ‘Fountain of Liberty’ which Mr. MacNeil was making for the coming World’s Fair in St. Louis. It consisted of colossal rampant sea-horses, cavorting over a cascade of waves, sea formations and variegated seashells. At the other end of the studio there was an immense group in clay of two Indians – an older Indian standing on his tiptoes with his arms folded across his chest, looking into the distance, the younger Indian with his left hand on the old man’s shoulder and in his right hand waving an olive branch. The title of the group was ‘The Coming of the White Man.’ There were plaster molds and sketches of details of other projects.”
I was bewildered. John Gregory woke me out of my trance and took me down to the cellar where he was working on some plaster moldings. It didn’t take him long to discover that I knew nothingbut he sensed my eagerness and was quick to give me advise and information. When I got home , I talked everybody’s ear off, but my sister Ray was the only one who listened sympathetically. She wanted to know all about it and there was so much to tell.”
STAY TUNED FOR “SO MUCH MORE TO TELL”
SOURCE: Jo Davidson, Between Sittings: An Informal Autobiography (Dial Press: New York, 1951. Pp.13-16)
Related Images:
“A Very Merrie Christmas and a Happy New Year” 1912
Posted by: | Comments 
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? 
Related Images:
MacNeil “Merry Christmas”
Posted by: | CommentsChristmas Greetings from the home of Hermon and Carol MacNeil.
Pictured below is a tinted postcard of their studio which ajoined their home on College Point. Beneath that you can see their actual 1922 Christmas card drawn by Hermon MacNeil for their friends. Married on Christmas Day in 1895, this is also Hermon and Carol’s 27th Wedding Anniversary. (CLICK for MORE)
Note how Hermon’s Christmas card sketch resembles his “Sun Vow” pair of Native Americans from a quarter century earlier.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
from the MacNeil’s of College Point just 91 years ago.
MacNeil studio in College Point
MacNeil Christmas card 1922 (photo courtesy of – James Haas)
Related Images:
MacNeil’s “Standing Liberty Quarter” and “I’ve Got a Secret” April 4, 1966
Posted by: | Comments100 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.
Model for Liberty quarter (I’ve Got a Secret 4/4/66) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS39StcYE58
World War I Memorial – Flushing, New York by H. A. MacNeil
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.
[ SOURCE: http://forgotten-ny.com/2006/10/northern-boulevard-in-flushing/. ]
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.
Long Island Star-Journal, March 14, 1966 Article on Doris Doscher Baum (SLQ model) and John E. Troesh (Marquette model).
Related posts:
- Hermon MacNeil’s “Standing Liberty Quarter” Praised As Favorite (21.3) Ninety-four years after its first minting, the MacNeil “Standing Liberty…
- Edward A. Van Orden, “Collecting a Masterpiece; an Introduction to the Standing Liberty quarter” (21) ~~ SLQ ~~ Part One ~~ In September 2019 the…
- Standing Liberty Quarter ~ MacNeil’s First Design (19.5) Hermon MacNeil’s first concept for the new Liberty Standing Quarter…
- Standing Liberty Quarter – Jay H. Cline’s Life-long Love (19.1) J. H. Cline’s 45 year admiration of Hermon A. MacNeil’s…
- RE-APPEARANCE of Hermon MacNeil’s 0wn “Personal 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter” ~ Part 2 (15.8) The first Standing Liberty Quarter struck in 1916 was given…
- Collecting the Standing Liberty Quarter – Part One (14.5) Hermon A. MacNeil’s Standing Liberty Quarter is a rare Masterpiece. …
Related Images:
MacNeil Cousins ~ Hermon and Tom Henry
Posted by: | Comments
Thomas (Tom) Henry McNeil (b. 1860 – d. 1932)
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (b. 1866 – d. 1947)
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947) and Thomas Henry McNeil (1860-1932) were cousins.
They shared a common grandfather, Peter McNeil (1786-1847).
Hermon is the sculptor celebrated on this website.Thomas (Tom Henry) was my grandfather. My mother, Ollie Francis McNeil, always referred to Hermon as “Uncle Hermon”. Their parents wanted her (and her sisters and brother) to do that out of respect.
Hermon was more correctly their “first cousin, once removed”. But “Uncle” seems both easier and more respectful. Hermon would be my “first cousin, twice removed” [ see ancestry chart below ].
The MacNeil Cousins share a common grandfather, Peter MacNeil, who is my great-great-grandfather.
MacNeil of Barra tartan
Tom Henry was born in Missouri, near Burdette in Bates County. He graduated from the University of Michigan. He played football there as the first starting quarterback in consecutive seasons. He practiced as a lawyer for Kansas City Railways Company, and in later years, he was responsible for making accident reports to the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Public Service Commission of Missouri. He died in 1932.
Hermon was born in Everett (Chelsea, Malden) Mass. In 1886 he graduated from Normal Art School in Boston (now Mass Art). He moved to Cornell University, New York, until 1889, leaving to study in Paris as a pupil of Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière. He sculpted in Chicago from 1891-1895, at the Columbian World Exposition (1893 Chicago World’s Fair) meeting Carol Brooks (also a sculptor). They married on Christmas Day 1895 and sailed days later for Rome (1895-99). Following another year in Paris (1899-1900), they settled in New York City building a home and studio in College Point, Long Island. He worked and lived there until his death in 1947.
FOR MORE read:
Dan Leininger
Daniel Neil Leininger, webmaster, HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com
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Will YOU HELP this Patriot return to College Point?
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Hermon A. MacNeil’s plaster sculpture of “George Washington”made as his studio plaster model nearly a century ago.
Recognize this Patriot?
You can HELP HIM return to College Point.
Here are a few clues:
- The piece you see here is less that 1/3 the size of the actual statue (pictured below).
- For the last 64 years it has been in storage at a museum over 800 miles from MacNeil’s studio in College Point, Queens, NYC where it originated.
- Along with a dozen and a half other plaster casts from MacNeil’s studio, this stately Commander left College point after the sculptor’s death.
If the Poppenhusen Institute and Susan Brustmann, the director, have their way, this “General Washington” may spend his 2nd century as a “permanent resident” of the community where Hermon MacNeil sculpted him.
“George Washington as Commander-in Chief” ~ A recent photo of this MacNeil work that has graced the Washington Arch in Greenwich Village for the last 96 years.
A NEW HOME at the POPPENHUSEN INSTITUTE (MORE) is being offered just blocks down the street from where MacNeil’s hands fashioned this commemorative piece.
Susan Brustmann, director of the Institute, informs us that discussions are underway to bring these MacNeil statues home.
For 64 years they have been in the inventory and care of a midwestern museum that has decided to de-assession the pieces. Seldom seen, never permanently exhibited, and soon to be de-assessioned, over a dozen others may return to College Point.
But your help is needed.
YOU CAN HELP! CONTACT us at:
HAMacNeil@gmail.com
Stay tuned for updates.
Related posts:
- Poppenhusen Institute makes MacNeil Collection Appeal! (14.8)
- MacNeil Sculpture at Poppenhusen Institute (11.2)
- MacNeil Park – College Point, Queens, NY (17)
- MacNeil Postcard #3 ~ ‘From Chas. Aug 24, 1907′ (8.4)
- Confederate Defenders Statue – White Point Gardens & the Battery (8.6)
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"Primitive Indian Music" - A rare 1894 bronze casting of a sculpture later refined and cast in multiple copies as the "Primitive Chant to the great Spirit."
A recent inquiry from James Dixon has revealed a previously unseen 1894 bronze casting entitled “Primitive Indian Music.” The piece appears to be an early (or earliest) proto-type of “The Primitive Chant to the Great Spirit” by Hermon A. MacNeil dated 1901.
MacNeil marked this earlier piece on the base in block letters. He signed it simply “MACNEIL Sc”
It is dated [ ’94 ] similar to the Marquette Building panels of 1895, some of which are dated [ ’95]. SEE detail below:
"MACNEiL 95" reads this signature on Panel 3 of Marquette Building, Chicago. (Detail from lower right corner - Note; mocassin foot in showshoe above signature.)
This ‘Dixon’ piece is marked like no other bronzes of the “Primitive Chant.” All others are dated 1901. Jim tells us that his great grandmother, Eda Lord, lived in Evanston, Illinois, and purchased the statue between 1890 and 1900.
Jim Dixon knows this, because the sculpture has been in his family for four generations. He found our website seeking more information on his family’s MacNeil art piece. Here’s how Jim shares his family’s story:
My Great Grandmother, Eda Lord, purchased a MacNeil sculpture in the late 1800’s when she lived in Evanston, Illinois. The sculpture made its way down the family tree to my Grandmother and then to my mom and dad and it was passed on to me when my mom passed away last year. The statue is of an Indian boy and is about 24″ tall (bronze) It is labeled “Primitive Indian Music MacNeil s: ’94” My review of the works of MacNeil pointed to the sculpture entitled “A primitive chant to the Great Spirit” at the Smithsonian Museum. My observation of the photo of “A primitive Chant…” lead me to believe that the two sculptures are the same. It this possible? Were multiple casting made of these statues? Was it common to re-cast the statue at a later time? I would be happy to send digital photos of the sculpture for your records, review and comments. Any further information you may have on this statue would be appreciated.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
James Dixon
The partial title "PRIMITIVE IND..." is visible here
Hers is partial title "Indian Music" and "MACNEIL Sc" with date " '94"
This photo of markings on the piece read “PRIMITIVE…” and the next photo continues “INDIAN MUSIC”. The signature bears no initials, only the full last name, “MACNEIL Sc”. Additional marks include a date [ ‘ 94 ]. These markings are consistent with MacNeil’s pre-1900 dates on the Marquette Panels — last name only with no initials. The block letter ( MACNEIL ) is “identical to Panel #3 of the Marquette Building. In addition, consider the following:
- No foundry marks appear on this Dixon Family heirloom.
- More importantly no RBW (Roman Bronze Works) initials or name appears on the casting. Roman Bronze Works is where most museum pieces of this work were cast. They also bear the date of 1901. RBW opened its doors in 1900 the same time that Hermon MacNeil settled in College Point, Queens, NYC, New York.
- The absence of RBW’s distinguishing mark, as found on the 1901 casts, and the Dixon family story of acquisition would seem to indicate a date before 1900 for the casting of this piece.
- The story of Hermon MacNeil and his hiring of Black Pipe (see previous post dated April 25, 2012) as a studio assistant and model are consistent with an 1894 dating of this piece. In this conversation with J Walker McSpadden in 1924, MacNeil recalled the events:
- MACNEIL: “Yes, and you may find it an interesting yarn. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show had been in Chicago during the Fair, and one of his braves was Black Pipe, a Sioux, a fine-looking fellow. He had stayed behind, and one day I met him on the streets, looking hungry and cold, and asked him if he wanted something to do. He did there was no doubt about that. I took him into the studio, fed him up, and then set to work modeling his head. I finished it in four hours, for I was not sure that I would ever see my Indian again; but he stayed with me in all for a year and a half, helping me with odd jobs about the studio. That’s his head there.”
- It was a life-size bronze, which he indicated, not done in full relief but resting on a plaque a strong piece of portraiture.
- MCSPADDEN: “In this and your later work with Indians,” I inquired, “did you have any trouble about making their likenesses? Some of them object to being photographed.”
- MACNEIL: “Yes, many of the older Indians object; they think it takes the spirit out of them. But Black Pipe had been among white folks long enough to know better, and with others I managed to get around their superstitions. Black Pipe, by the way, posed for ‘The [312] Primitive Chant 5 which is one of my best-known Indian subjects.”
- This is the spirited figure of a naked savage dancing to the music of his own flute. It has been widely copied in art prints. [ Source: Joseph Walker McSpadden, Famous Sculptors of America, (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1924) pp. 311-12. ]
- This figure also appears to also be based on Black Pipe. CLICK HERE for more on MacNeil and Black Pipe
- The only other evidence of a MacNeil Bronze from this period (1894) is “the Vow to Vengeance” in the Art Institute of Chicago which lists a date marking on 1894 as well. SEE AIC Website HERE.
Many old photos of ‘plaster casts’ of this sculpture appear in museum archives. This ‘Dixon’ bronze appears to be a very different find than other models, either plaster or bronze.
WEBMASTER’S COMMENTS:
- Thanks Jim for the photos and inquiry.
- This seems a VERY early bronze casting from MacNeil’s 1893-1895 days at the Art Institute of Chicago (1893-1895).
- I have seen Plaster sculptures from this period but not Bronze casts. Perhaps, MacNeil was venturing (experimenting) into bronze castings. Another bronze from 1894 is this “Vow to Vengeance” which was an early version of the later “Sun Vow” [ SEE Art Institute of Chicago holdings: CLICK HERE ]
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This “Primitive Indian Music” seems an early version of his “Primitive Chant to the Great Spirit.” of 1901. Your piece seems to be a ‘first’ to me. Spelled RARE. There maybe others, but they are not in museum archives, or accessible on-line. I certainly have not seen them.
- All other bronze casts I have seen photos of date after 1900. This includes “Primitive Chant” from museums and auction house photos. All those have RBW initials from NYC -Roman Bronze Works.
- The work seems much less finished (polished). It appears rougher in texture (more primitive? early?). Not only Primitive Indian…, but also maybe Primitive MacNeil… ?
CONCLUSION (for now): This is a fascinating piece that seems to this non-curator-MacNeil-enthusiast to be one of Hermon’s earliest concepts of what he later cast as “Primitive Chant to the Great Spirit” in 1901.
That piece was cast by Roman Bronze Works when MacNeil settled there in his studio-home in College Point NYC.
NEXT: “Who was Eda Lord? And How did she become owner of this early MacNeil sculpture?
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Hermon MacNeil’s “Pony Express” or “Pancho Villa” Rides Again!
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Since 1940, MacNeil's "Pony Express" has galloped westward out of Saint Joseph, Missouri, on the 10 day mail run to Sacramento, California. The horse was modeled on a wild mustang from North Dakota, named "Pancho Villa."
MacNeil modeled the saddle, spurs and rider's accessories after Dr. Strong's collection of authentic western gear .
The bronze “Pony Express” horse and rider galloping out of downtown Saint Joseph, Missouri, since 1940, is Hermon A. MacNeil’s immortalizing of “Pancho Villa.” The sculptor modeled the monument’s “glorious horse flesh” after an actual “outlaw” wild mustang from the North Dakota prairies, named “Pancho Villa” (after the Mexican outlaw). (See the original 1946 ‘Long Island Star – Journal” story below).
‘Pancho Villa’ put six rodeo cowboys in the hospital before he allowed Dr. S. Meredith Strong, a Flushing physician, to tame and ride him. The ‘cowboy doctor’ (as he was called) bought the animal after its last rodeo performance in Madison Square Garden, New York City. Originally, “Pancho Villa” was captured from the North Dakota prairie where he ran with a herd of wild horses.
Spurs and saddle detail
Dr. Strong, who died in 1946 (see obituary below), was the National President of the American Rough Riders Association, a group devoted to the preservation of the wild mustangs. He traveled thousands of miles as a lover-of-horse-flesh seeking to preserve this western heritage. He and MacNeil must have had some interesting conversations. (The newspaper photo below shows Hermon MacNeil seated on the statue).
I am grateful to James E. Haas, (author, researcher, and Hermon-MacNeil-enthusiast) for this resource find. Jim has become this website’s “official research detective” and a true benefactor of history on Hermon A. MacNeil. Through his detective work over 150 digital sources have been given to me as webmaster. His books on College Point history can be found at his website. CLICK HERE (http://www.jimhaasbooks.com/).
Hermon MacNeil' "Pony Express" monument is modeled on an actual wild stallion from North Dakota named "Poncho Villa." The man seated on the statue base by the sculptors signature is Hermon MacNeil himself.
In related news the National Pony Express Association will conduct its annual Re-Ride over the 1,966 mile route of the Pony Express National Historic Trail from California, through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas to Missouri, June 12 to 23, 2012. Like the statue, this annual event preserves this history that Dr. Strong and Hermon MacNeil so loved.
“Giddy-up Poncho”
The "Long Island Star-Journal" published this obituary of Meredith Strong on February 4, 1946. Twenty months later, Hermon MacNeil died as well.
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Hermon MacNeil ~ Postcard ~ 2012 MacNeil Month #1 ~ “Coming of the White Man”
Posted by: | CommentsFebruary is “MacNeil Month at HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com
Feb 27th, 2012 is the 146th Anniversary of Hermon MacNeil’s birth.
Hermon MacNeil’s “Coming of the White Man” sculpture in Portland, OR, appears to be the most popular postcard of all his statues.
"Coming of the White Man" (Postcard credit: Gibson Shell, KC MO)
Hermon A. MacNeil’s “Coming of the White Man” in Portland Oregon has an interesting story of the boulder-like stone that forms its base. This postcard image from Gib Shell shows the enormous granite stone on which MacNeil placed the statue.
The story, as I read it from a newspaper interview from about 1905, went like this. MacNeil was very particular about how his sculptures were mounted. Many of them were placed on bases that he made as a special part of the piece. The Marquette-Jolliet-Illini grouping in Chicago, the “Confederate Defenders” statue in Charleston each have stone bases with carvings, words, and art details that compliment the piece.
MacNeil wanted a stone base that fit into the wooded setting of Washington Park (Plaza Park) in Portland,Oregon. The site for the statue, I am told, overlooks the Columbia River to the East. The Native American pair [a Chief of the Multnomah, and the Medicine Man (scout)] look into the river valley and spy the first White explorers coming to their region. MacNeil portrays the Chief as tall, proud, and serene, while the Medicine Man is aroused, eager, and excited. [See: ” If MacNeil’s “Chiefs” Could Speak, What would They tell us Today? ].
MacNeil considered the cost of shipping a stone from New York. He decided it would cost too much. But he knew what he wanted in a stone. So he made a plaster model (that is what sculptors do). The model was 1/3 the size of the stone that he wanted. Then he shipped it with the statue to Portland. He sent instructions that a stone be found sufficient for a base.
When the statue arrived in Portland, Hermon came and found that no one had looked for a stone as he requested. So he took his 1/3 plaster model, put it in a boat and traveled up the Columbia River to a granite quarry about 20 miles up river. Leaving his plaster model in the boat, he went to the quarry and found a piece of granite sufficient to shape for a natural looking base. Finding a suitable stone, he had it transported to a barge and them brought up the river. At the foot of the hill where the statue was to be placed, it took a four horse team to pull the stone up the hill (this was 1904 remember).
MacNeil must have sculpted the base on site. It bears the name of the statue and the information on the donor. When looking at a sculpture I seldom take time to consider the base, pedestal, or the setting in which the sculptor, artist, architect may have placed it. I hope MacNeil’s story adds to your curiosity and appreciation of his work.
This photo shows the upper base of the statue as part of the casting itself with the name sculpted into the base. This sits on the boulder that MacNeil crafted for the setting from Columbis River granite. (Postcard courtesy of Gibson Shell, KC MO)
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At each corner of the East Pediment of the U.S. Supreme Court Building, Hermon MacNeil placed the figures of a ‘tortoise’ and a ‘hare.’ His local newspaper (“Brooklyn Daily Star”) carried the story below on the MacNeil’s 67th Birthday, February 27, 1933.
Published on Hermon A. MacNeil’s 67th Birthday – February 27, 1933 – In the “Brooklyn Daily Star” – Front Page One, Columns 6 & 7.
MacNeil’s ‘Tortoise’ on the north corner of his east pediment sculpture MacNeil’s ‘Hare’ on south corner of east Pediment sculpture.
The greater figures (Moses, Confucius, and Solon [not Plato]) received more publicity and scrutiny. Some questioned that placement as making some ‘religious’ statement (See previous Posting of Jan 13th, 2012).
MacNeil’s use of the little symbolic animals so familiar to readers of Aesop’s Fables (children’s readings from a century ago) may seem quaint in 21st Century media, but provide an appropriate allegorical meaning and use of confined ‘space.’
Also see previous story on this website at:
MacNeil’s ‘Hare’ on south corner of east Pediment sculpture.
Of further note in the “Brooklyn Daily Star” article is the reference to Alden MacNeil. He was Hermon and Carol’s younger son. Whether he worked ‘for’ Cass Gilbert or ‘with’ the famous architect is unclear. I suspect the later. Either way being “associated” with Cass Gilbert the renowned architectural firm on the Supreme Court Building project is a significant point of the story.
US Supreme Court Building, East Pediment, Washington, D.C.
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Another “Chief of the Multnomah” Has Appeared in the East.
Posted by: | CommentsThere is another “Chief of the Multnomah.”
Today I received four unsolicited photos in my website email. Three are posted below. The only message was the words, “I need help with this.”
I responded with “What help do you need with this?”
- “A Chief of the Multnomah” is silent, but If he could only speak and share his observations of 150 years with the White Man.
The one word answer came back, “Valuation.”
So, I asked for permission to post the photos on this website. I added that the photos:
“are excellent examples of public works of HA MacNeil that are not publicized in the art world. I was not aware of this public sculpture until your inquiry.”
My responses included:
1. An explanation that I am neither an art appraiser nor an art dealer. I also expressed curiosity as to where the statue was located in such a park-like setting.
2. I identified myself as the webmaster of HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com. I stated that I build and maintain this website to gather information on the sculpture and life of Hermon A. MacNeil. I stated that it has attracted people like the inquirer who wanted more information.
3. So I offered the following information: I recognize the piece in the photographs as “A Chief of the Multnomah.” The photo of MacNeil’s signature is very helpful. (See below). The ‘H.A. MacNeil, SC’ was his typical marking. “SC” was his abbreviation for ‘sculptor.’ The ’04’ would indicate a completion date of ‘1904’ for the sculpture. The 4/9 would suggest this is the 4th casting of 9 castings of this piece. There is probably a marking of RBW or “Roman Bronze Works” somewhere on the sculpture also. They were the foundry that MacNeil (and dozens of other American sculptors) used most extensively.
The signature reds: "H.A MacNeil, SC. 04" and "4/9"
4. I passed along information of a recent estate auction in Queens, NY a where a “Chief of the Multnomah” statue was sold. While I do not have documentation, I remembered reading a sale price somewhere in the $35,000 range. I suggested that this other piece might be one the ‘nine’ cast with this 4th-of-9 castings. See section 7 below and the links there for a bit more on that Michael Halberian Estate Sale.
5. I told how MacNeil later combined ‘Chief Multnomah with a smaller accompanying figure of a native medicine man standing by the chief. That larger sculpture he called, “The Coming of the White Man.” It stands in Portland, Oregon in Washington Park. See my posting at:
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2010/05/17/portland-coming-of-the-white-man/
6. I also told how the original plaster sculpture model of the “Coming of the White Man” was given by MacNeil to the Poppenhusen Institute in College Point, Queens, NYC, which is just up the street from the location of MacNeil’s studio and home (now destroyed). Here is more of the story on that:
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2010/09/15/macneil-sculpture-at-poppenhusen-institute/
"A Chief of the Multnomah" looks over the Choptank River on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
7. I then offered more about that recent estate auction featuring “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. (Some stories say he had is cast from the plaster original model.)
At that point I still had no idea where the statue was located.
Neither do you until next posting.
AND THAT IS THE BEST PART OF THE STORY.
STAY TUNED!
