Archive for Daniel Chester French
The MacNeil’s Chicago Wedding – Christmas Day 1895
Posted by: | CommentsI sit here in Chicago during this Christmas Season, imagining a Christmas wedding ceremony one hundred and nineteen years ago.
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On Christmas Eve day in 1895, Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Carol Louise Brooks purchased a Cook County license to solemnize their marriage. The very next day, Christmas 1895, they shared their vows before God and a Congregational minister named, Edward F. Williams, here in Chicago. The record looks like this:
Marriage License of Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Carol Louise Brooks issued on December 24th, 1895 and completed on Christmas Day 1895 by Rev. Edward F. Williams, Congregational Minister.
Both Hermon and Carol were sculptors. Hermon had completed 4 bronze relief sculpture panels for the new Marquette Building. They had fellow friends among the art community, sculptor colleagues from the Chicago World’s Fair, students and teachers from the Art Institute of Chicago, and “White Rabbits” team of women sculptors. We don’t have any record of who might have witnessed their nuptials.
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But it was Christmas Day, a time when families gather. Hermon’s family was far away in Massachusetts. Carol’s was born in Chicago and studied there at the Art Institute with Lorado Taft working on the 1893 Worlds Fair with her “White Rabbit” colleagues. Perhaps some friends or family were present or even hosted some wedding celebration. Her parents were close enough to be present, but no evidence suggests that. It appears to have been a quick, quiet, modest ceremony. The less than a one-day turn around on their marriage license would support that. In addition, we know that they sailed a week later for Rome and Hermon’s Roman Reinhart Scholarship studies there. A December 22, 1895 – New York Sun, article (CLICK HERE) supports that as well as a letter from Amy Ardis Bradley [ CLICK for MORE ]
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New York Sun December 22, 1895 “The Reinhart Prize Winner ~ Hermon Atkins Macneil of Chicago”
The officiating minister, Rev. Edward (Franklin) Williams appears to have been a prominent clergy described as “a Congregational minister, educator, field agent for the United States Christian Commission, missionary, and writer.” ( Source: Edward Franklin Williams papers, Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana ) He wrote Carol’s name as “Carrie” in his handwritten certification on the bottom of the license. She went by ‘Carrie’ among her friends.
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Whether Rev. Williams considered her a ‘friend’ we do not know. Philip Khopf, the Cook County clerk, wrote ‘Carol’ in the top portion of the certificate. Rev. Williams could have copied “Carol” from the official record above, but chose to use ‘Carrie’ instead. The license lists Carol as being 24 years of age and Hermon as 29. We know that the minister was 63 years of age when he led their ceremony. Until 1891 he was pastor of the South Congregational Church, in suburban Chicago. For health reasons he had “an extended stay abroad (June, 1891 to July, 1893), primarily in Germany, where he pursued studies in Berlin.” Returning to Chicago he studied and lectured at Chicago Theological Seminary during 1894.
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Whether Rev. Williams had some previous knowledge with Carrie and Hermon or was a friend of the family, is uncertain. He seemed very connected to the Chicago community and many of the potential benefactors of the arts. At a minimum, his use of “Carrie” seems to indicate a ‘cordial’ style of ministry and interaction. It also seems consistent with his servant-attitude toward needs of the soldiers and wounded he encountered during the Civil War.
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CLICK HERE for more Links and info about Hermon and Carrie’s marriage in 1895:
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More biographical information on Rev. Williams is offered below.
Williams, Edward Franklin (1832-1919)
Historical Note: Edward Franklin Williams was a Congregational minister, educator, field agent for the United States Christian Commission, missionary, and writer. Edward Franklin Williams was born in Massachusetts in 1832, the son of Delilah Morse Williams and George Williams. Williams attended Yale University from 1852 to 1856, and he continued to earn an advanced degree from Yale. He later attended the Princeton Theological Seminary, where he graduated and earned his license to preach in 1861.Williams was exempt from the draft due to a tubercular condition in his lungs, and thus he did not fight in the Civil War. In April 1863, Williams received a commission as a field agent for the United States Christian Commission. With the Commission, he served two and a half years in the armies of the Potomac and the James.After the war, Williams was sent as principal to begin was became the Lookout Mountain Educational Institutions in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1867, Williams was appointed by the American Missionary Association to teach in the Normal and Preparatory Division of what was later Howard University. He left Howard to preach at several churches in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New York, ultimately serving as pastor of Tabernacle Church in Chicago and Forty-Seventh Street Congregational Church, which later became South Congregational Church, in suburban Chicago, where he served until 1891.By 1880, Williams was writing a monthly column for The Congregationalist under a pen name, “Franklin.” He continued writing for this publication until 1908. He continued as a prolific writer, particularly in the 1890s.
From 1901 to 1911 Williams served as pastor of the Evanston Ave. Congregational Church in Chicago. Williams died in 1919 in Chicago.
[ Sources: Edward Franklin Williams papers, Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana ]
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Daniel Chester French’s most famous creation is his seated Lincoln. This work won him much acclaim, including a National Sculpture Society Special Honor Award in 1929.
Seated In the marble throne supported by two Roman fasces symbols, Lincoln gazes contemplatively over the "preserved Union."
The National Sculpture Society created a Special honor Award presented in 1929 to Daniel Chester French (lt). Presenters were Hermon A. MacNeil (ctr), Herbert Adams (rt.) and not in this picture are A. A.Weinman, and James Earle Fraser. Here the men admire the Special Honor Award sculpted by Laura Gardin Frazer.
The screen capture (above) shows a frame from the 1929 silent movie “The Medal Maker.” This video frame shows two of the four presidents of the National Sculpture Society presenting the NSS‘s ‘Special Award Medal’ to Daniel Chester French (left). Hermon MacNeil is in center (with hand gesture). Herbert Adams is on right.
French (1850-1931) died just 2 years after this video was made. The making of the Medal by Laura Gardin Fraser is told in “The Medal Maker” (CLICK HERE FOR MORE).
The temple of the Lincoln Memorial shelters Daniel Chester French's tribute to our 16th President. Enthroned in marble the seated Mr. Lincoln personifies the greatest struggle of the American experiment in its first century.
Enshrined with him are the 438 words that rang out over the Gettysberg Battlefield Cemetery. Though he said "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here," history and the heart felt convictions of free people have proved that part of his dedication to be inaccurate.
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JOURNEY TO SUPREME COURT: ~ Finds plenty of Sculpture along the way in Washington D.C. …
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Andrew Jackson tips his hat to the White House and the Washington Monument. The statue cast by Clark Mill in 1853 occupies the center of Lafayette Square.
I recently visited our nation’s Capitol with family. Sculpture and history are everywhere. On the way to the Supreme Court to take a few photos of MacNeil’s tortoise and the hare, I was lured away by a few wonderful sites.
So the East Pediment of 11 figures (Moses, Confucius, Solon, the tortoise and the hare, and six others) would have to wait.
In front of the White House in Lafayette Square, I found Andrew Jackson rearing up on horseback and waiving his hat to the White House and Washington monument in the distance. Apparently, he has been doing that pose for over 160 years when Clark Mills’ tribute to Jackson was emplaced. For more perspectives and close-up details on this piece click HERE at DCmemorials.com.
The First Division Monument of WWI was designed by Cass Gilbert. This golden "Victory" was the work of Daniel Chester French.
Behind the Old Executive Office Building, high on a Roman column stood “Victory” by Daniel Chester French. Cass Gilbert was also the architect of this WWI memorial to the First Infantry Division. All of the funds for the monument as well as the additions were provided by the Society of the First Infantry Division.
To see this full monument and others in the Ellipse and D.C. CLICK HERE. The StationStart.com website provides photos and history to accompany your ride on the Metro through the Capitol.
On across the street stands the Washington Monument which is closed for structural repairs following the earth quake last year. Some mortar was loosened and cracks opened. But the spire stands tall and proud like the General himself.
On down the hill to the west rests the WWII Memorial. Nestled into the center of the Mall, this oval dish of fountains, pools, and 56 state and territorial salutes gathers people into a living history. Veterans of WWII, some of the last remaining were there on that sunny Saturday morning giving dignity and flesh and blood to this stunningly compelling tribute. As a VA Chaplain, I found myself shedding more tears here and recalling the veterans I have been privileged to know.
The WWII Monument is just down the hill from the Washington obilisk. Across the pool of fountains we see the 4048 gold stars and the Lincoln Memorial in the distance.
ALL GAVE SOME - SOME GAVE ALL. 4048 Gold Stars commemorate the 404,800 American soldiers who died in World War II.
ALL GAVE SOME – SOME GAVE ALL. These 4048 Gold Stars commemorate the 404,800 American soldiers who died in World War II. Each Gold Star here represents 100 dead.
During the war, each mother of a veteran would place a Blue Star in the front window of the family home. A Gold Star is what a mother placed if a son had been killed in action.
For more photos and history on this monument see HERE.
COMING: Next post will take us to the Lincoln Memorial to see Daniel Chester French’s most renowned sculpture.
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“The ‘Five’ Medal Makers” ~ SOM Series ~ MacNeil Month 2012
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"Medal Maker" VHS of 1929 with remake in 1997
The screen capture (below) shows a frame from the 1929 silent movie “The Medal Maker.” This photo frame shows four presidents of the National Sculpture Society who were also “Medal Makers” presenting the NSS‘s ‘Special Award Medal’ to Daniel Chester French (center). French (1850-1931) died just 2 years after this video was made. The making of the Medal by Laura Gardin Fraser is told in “The Medal Maker” (see cover at right).
Three of these sculptors (Fraser, Weinman and MacNeil) had already redesigned US Coinage. They created the Buffalo Nickel (JEF), the Liberty [Mercury] Dime & Walking Liberty Half-Dollar (AAW), and the Standing Liberty Quarter (HAM).
Below are Society of Medalists creations and stories from each sculptor on some of their medal making. (The SOM medal images below are from the collection of the webmaster, Daniel Neil Leininger.)
- This screen capture shows the video playing on this website as posted on Sept 26, 2011
Laura Garden Frazer and James Earle Frazer were both sculptors.(http://www.nysmhs.org/history/LauraGardinFraser/index.htm)
All five sculptors contributed to the “Society of Medalists” series of the Medallic Arts Company started in 1930, one year after this video was made. Laura Gardin Fraser, the maker of the NSS Special Award Medal, is the fifth medal maker featured here. She also sculpted the SOM#1, First Issue of the entire SOM series. Her NSS Award Medal (100mm or 4 inches) is featured below also.
- James Earl Fraser (1876-1953) ~ SOM #45 “The Pony Express” and “New Frontiers” 1952″ James Earle Fraser was the husband of Laura Gardin Fraser and 13 years her senior. He chose historic images of the west, namely, the “Pony Express” and the oxen-drawn “Covered Wagon.” He stated that the Covered Wagon was a childhood image that he remembered from his childhood in South Dakota and Minnesota.
James Earle Fraser's "Pony Express" and "New Frontier"
- Adolph Alex Weinman (1870-1952). ~ SOM#39 ~ 1949 ~ “Genesis” and “Web of Destiny.” Weinman offers the following description of his inspiration for this piece:
- “… for ‘Genesis’, look up chapter one in your Bible, I could not say it nearly as well. As to the ‘Web of Destiny’, that should be easily interpreted. The little fellow is Eros, who can perform more miracles in guiding the strands of destiny than any power known to man.” (J.E.F. -SOM #39)
- Adolph Alex Weinman ~ “Genesis” and “Web of Destiny” SOM #39 ~ 1949
- Laura Gardin Fraser (1889-1966). Her sculpture of the National Sculpture Society special award medal is the subject of the “Medal Maker” film/video. The presentation of the medal to French by the four past-presidents of the NSS is also recorded in that film.
- AE Medal of National Sculpture Society, Medallic Art Co., United States, 1929-1929. 1997.62.1
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Laura Gardin Fraser's NSS Award Medal presented to Daniel Chester French. The sculptor with mallet and chisel in hands, rests in slumberous thought as Pegasus rises to to seek messages from the gods. This is the Medal that Fraser was sculpting in the "Medal Maker" silent film of 1929, later made into a narrated video in 1997. (From the Collection of Daniel Neil Leininger, webmaster)
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NSS Special Award Medal by Laura Gardin Fraser ~ 1929 (obv). This is the Medal that Fraser was sculpting in the "Medal Maker" silent film of 1929, later made into a narrated video in 1997. (From the Collection of Daniel Neil Leininger, webmaster)
- Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947) – “Hopi” and “Prayer for Rain” SOM #31 ~ 1931. Based on MacNeil’s “Moqui (Hopi) Runner” of 1897, this was the only SOM medal that he would sculpt.
- For his lengthy explanation of the theme he chose, see this website: “Medals4Trade”
- MacNeil’s brief intro to the medal is as follows: “The two incidents of the Hopi Prayer for Rain on the mesas of northeastern Arizona depicted on this medal are chosen by your sculptor because of the extraordinary vital enthusiasm and power that the Indians throw into this ceremony. Having witnessed it and been thrilled by the intensity of their emotion and on further study by the complicated and perfectly natural development of this drama, I cannot help feel that in it we find a basic note underlying all religions. All these Southwest Indians, living as they do in an arid region, have developed their religion along the lines of their greatest need –water.”
Hermon MacNeil's "Prayer for Rain" was based on his statue "The Moqui Runner"
Four examples of various finish patinas medals that MacNeil selected for SOM#3 in 1931 (from collection of Dan Leininger, webmaster)
- Reverse of SOM#3 by Hermon MacNeil (collection of Dan Leininger, webmaster)
- Herbert Adams (1858-1945)~ SOM #009 ~ The Prize and The Little Shiner 1934
- “Oh What Are the Prizes We Perish to Win” (on obverse), “To the First Little Shiner We Caught with a Pin” (on reverse). Numbers Issued: 1,207 Bronze, 100 Silver.
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The words that Adams placed on the medal are translation of the two lines from Oliver Wendell Holmes’ poem, “Song of a Piece of Eight”, ~ He made the medal eight-sided (as a piece-of-eight) reminiscent of the pirate poem “Oh what are the prizes we perish to win. To the first little ‘shiner’ we caught with a pin.”
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Herbert Adams SOM #009 ~ The Prize and The Little Shiner ~ 1934
ALL FOUR MEN in the photo (excluding Daniel Chester French) would become Medal Makers for the SOM Series. The Society of Medalists series (begun in 1930 after this photo of 1929) was created by Medallic Art Company. It enlisted sculptors for the next 65 years. That list would read like the Who’s Who of Sculptors (American and otherwise) from 1930 to 1995.
- LAURA GARDIN FRASER was “The Medal Maker” featured in this film by that same name. I imagine that she was present for the presentation of the medal to French. She made numerous other medals (George Washington Bicentennial Medal 1932, Gilbert Stuart It seems ironic that her husband, James Earle Fraser, is admiring the medal and explaining some of her technique with the other sculptors. It is likely that Carol Brooks MacNeil was also present at the event. Women, however, were not in leadership in her era.
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Happy 2012! ~ From Friends of Hermon Atkins MacNeil ~ ~ Gibson Shell ~
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Gibson Shell has collected a book full of Hermon A. MacNeil photos, postcards, and memorabilia. Gib contributes photos regularly to this website. More to come. Stay tuned in 2012.
Happy 2012 from the Friends of Hermon Atkins MacNeil!
On Christmas Eve Day I had the pleasure of having breakfast in Kansas City, Missouri with Mr. Gibson Shell, one of Hermon’s biggest fans.
No stranger to HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com “Gib’s” photos and postcards have graced our pages for the last year.
Neither is he a stranger to those of you who frequent Coins Shows in the KC MO region and beyond.
Gib is an avid photographer and collector of Beaux Arts images (photos, postcards, souvenirs). Gib has documented what he calls ‘MacNeil’s French Connection,’ namely, the works of Chapu and Falguière, MacNeil’s teachers in Paris. Gib has gathered Sculptor Studies in MORE than a dozen Notebooks.
I enjoyed my tour through his Hermon MacNeil Notebook he is holding in this photo. MacNeil studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and at the Julien Academy as a pupil of Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière. Gib has an extensive collection of French postcards of their sculptures that MacNeil would have known and been influenced by.
I also was able to enjoy his Notebook of Daniel Chester French’s sculptures. (French’s “Minuteman” statue at Concord elevated him into public prominence in 1875 at the tender age of 25. His seated ‘Lincoln’ in the Lincoln Monument is his most famous work. French was on the Roman Rinehart Committee that awarded to Hermon MacNeil the first Rinehart scholarship in 1895. He also worked with MacNeil on the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. See Gib’s photos below of D. C. French’s “Republic” statue from the Fair ).
Next time I can see some of Gib’s other notebooks on Beaux Arts sculptors. I wanted you to see this “friend of Hermon Atkins MacNeil and HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com”
Thanks Gib for being a contributor! He sent this photo of Daniel Chester French’s “Republic” to herald in 2012. So once more:
HAPPY 2012 from CHICAGO! Daniel Chester French's centerpiece of the 1893 Chicago Fair greets you and (with her Blackbird) herald's in the New Year.
"Republic" raises the Old World symbols over the New World ~ the Globe and Eagle and the Laurel Wreath of Victory
P.S.
We discovered that Gib lives 6 blocks from where my “Aunt Jane” McNeil Boody lived in Kansas City. Jane and my mother, Ollie Frances McNeil both called Hermon MacNeil, “Uncle Hermon” all their lives.
Webmaster Dan Leininger (lt.) and Gib Shel (rt.) share Hermon MacNeil facts, research, & trivia
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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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‘Hermon A. MacNeil’ found in Video from 1929
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Four past-presidents of the National Sculpture Societycongratulate Daniel Chester French. Hermon MacNeil is 4th from the left as James Earle Frazer, Adolph Alex Weinman, and Herbert Adams, celebrate this Award of the first National Sculpture Society Medal. [MacNeil is 4th from left as Frazer, Weinman and Adams congratulate Daniel Chester French.]
Laura Gardin Frazer & James Earle Frazer a married sculptor couple as were Hermon & Carol B. MacNeil. (Photo Credit: NY State Morgan Horse Society)
The medal was crafted by Laura Gardin Faszer, as depicted in the earlier segments of this complete film, entitled the “Medal Maker”. Originally, the film was silent. Nearly seventy years later in 1997, it was restored and reissued by Medallic Arts Company [ www.medallic.com ] and Mike Craven Productions with narration and additional color footage. This reissue is what can be viewed here.
In this rare film from 1929, sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser is recorded creating the mold for the most prestigious medal awarded in America. Fraser was the first woman to design a coin for the U.S. Treasury, and she won several sculpture medals of her own. Her works include a double statue of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson on horseback, and relief panels at the West Point library. The original film has been reformatted, and is in color with black-and-white footage. Narration is provided by sculptor Elizabeth Jones, who is a former Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint.
[ Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/medal-maker-laura-gardin-fraser-master-sculptor#ixzz1WpVuaLFb ]
The Four segments of the film are viewable at these YouTube locations:
Part ONE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxYO6LJtVdY
Part TWO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfWLB2dMl_w
PartTHREE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1qG_oArwoI
Part FOUR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81No7kWeXtc&feature=related
Part FOUR of the “Medal Maker” video begins with Daniel Chester French on screen sculpting a horse. It switches to a view of French being presented the NSS Medalion by Adolph Alfred Weiman as James Earle Frazer, Hermon Atkins MacNeil, and Herbert Adams look on.
Pictured in Part THREE of the video is this photo of a Banquet on April, 9 1937 of the Society of Medalists – at Medallic Art Company, where this film was shown for the first time to a gathering of sculptors. I have marked in red a face that resembles Hermon Atkins MacNeil. [Apologies Uncle Hermon if that is not you. webmaster].
The host, Clyde Trees, owner of Medallic Arts Company, had hope that two dozen sculptors attend. When seventy-five (75) accepted his invitation and the little shops at 210 East 51st Street in downtown Manhattan were overwhelmed. Work benches, tables , and presses of the Medallic Arts Company were moved aside to make room for the gathering. A Commemorative Medal bearing the profile image of Augustus Saint Gaudens was struck by Mr. Trees as a ‘party favor’ for the occasion. Commemorative Medal
MEDAL MAKER VIDEO: www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A69802FB6478AB3B
STORY OF THE 1997 REISSUE OF ‘MEDAL MAKER’ VIDEO: http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n31a13.html
Highlighted for visitors is the complete film, “The Medal Maker.” First shown to the Society of Medalists in 1929, it features multi-award winning coin and medal designer, sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser in her famous New York Studio in 1929 creating the models for the Special Medal of Honor for the National Sculpture Society, America’s highest sculptural award. Every step of creation and production is shown, including sketching, preparing background plate, transferring the drawing and applying clay pellets to the model, foundry casting of the pattern, die making and striking the medal at Medallic Art Company. This exceptional movie is narrated by Elizabeth Jones, sculptor, and former United States Mint Chief Engraver, from her studio in Philadelphia.
For further Biography on Laura Gardin Frazer and her famous sculptor husband, James Earle Frazer, see : http://www.nysmhs.org/history/LauraGardinFraser/index.htm
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MacNeil’s “Lincoln Lawyer” Bust modeled from Standing Lincoln
Posted by: | CommentsAs mentioned in the previous post of July 22, the Lincoln Hall statue at University of Illinois was cast from a standing Lincoln original plaster sculpture. The Smithsonian Institute archives contain a photo of that piece on right. [or CLICK HERE]
The Smithsonian Institute archives contain this photo of MacNeil’s Lincoln standing.
MacNeil’s “Lincoln Lawyer” from U of I’s Lincoln Hall was modeled from the larger standing Lincoln plaster original
Note the folded arms, the papers in the right hand, and the young clean-shaven Lawyer Lincoln. The resemblance of the Lincoln Hall figure (left) to the Smithsonian photo (right) is apparent (even in the reduced images seen here).
MacNeil’s original plaster statue of Lincoln (standing) very likely has been lost to the ages. He sculpted it in 1914 for a competition of the Art Commission of Illinois. They sought a statue for the City of Springfield. After the commission chose another sculpture, MacNeil worked with Roman Bronze Works to cast 8 Lincoln busts from the original standing Lincoln.
The original may have been destroyed, or more probably, was stored in Roman Bronze Works (RBW) warehouse . There it would have been subject to the foundry activities, moves, changes and decay of that facility’s history over the past 100 years since MacNeil created the fragile plaster Lawyer Lincoln. (Many renowned sculptors desired the “lost wax” method of casting which RBW made available in the U.S. ) During the thirty years from 1897 to 1927, Roman Bronze Works resided in New York City. The story of RBW after 1927 seems a bit more complicated:
Roman Bronze Works in New York City, established in 1897 by Ricardo Bertelli, was the pre-eminent sculpture bronze foundry in the United States during the American Renaissance. It continued to cast sculpture after that period ended. Its foundry, long a sub-contractor to Louis Comfort Tiffany‘s Tiffany Studios, moved to Tiffany’s Corona, New York, red brick factory in 1927.[1] …
Roman Bronze Works, which made Tiffany’s bronze accessories and lamp bases, moved to Tiffany’s Corona facility in 1927. Roman Bronze Works was purchased in 1946 by Salvatore Schiavo, whose father had been working at the foundry since 1902. His nephew, Philip J. Schiavo, the grandson of the first Schiavo, was the president of the foundry until its closing.[4]
Roman Bronze Works 1890s New York City
After the foundry closed, an auction was staged of original plaster models of major works by American artists, Frederic Remington, Daniel Chester French, Charles Russell, Bessie Potter Vonnoh and Anna Hyatt Huntington, in New York, 17 September 1988.[5] Some of the molds were moved to warehouse space in Copiague, New York, under the aegis of American Art Restoration, Inc..[6] Fortunately the business archives were preserved and are now at the Amon Carter Museum Library, Fort Worth, Texas.[7]In addition, the foundry has recently been reopened as Roman Bronze Studios by Brain Ramnarine who apprenticed and worked at Roman Bronze Works with Salvatore and Philip Schiavo. (Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Bronze_Works )
Whether MacNeil’s original plaster model of the standing Lincoln was transported in the 1927 move, or was part of the ownership transfer of 1946 (the year before MacNeil died), or was sold in the 1988 auction of American artists has yet to be documented by this researcher. Perhaps, it was destroyed after the eight busts were cast. Though no recored of that is found either.
[A 2002 book devoted to Roman Bronze Works, by Lucy D. Rosenfeld, A Century of American Sculpture The Roman Bronze Works Foundry bears a photo of MacNeil’s “Sun Vow” on the cover. Rosenfeld used the firm’s ledgers and archival photographs now stored at the Amon Carter Museum. This volume warrants future investigation].
LINCOLN BUST FACTS:
- The bust in Urbana was placed in Lincoln Hall in 1929.
- This procurement suggested by Lorado Taft occurred fifteen years after the original sculpture was made.
- The University of Illinois “Lincoln Lawyer” is the only one of MacNeil’s Lincoln busts pictured on this website,
- It is the only one ever seen by this author,
- It remains the only one readily found by web searching in general.
- It is a truly beautiful piece that is now restored to its original patina and brilliance.
Art and museum records locate four of MacNeil’s eight “Lincoln Lawyer” castings. the others “Lincoln Lawyer” busts by MacNeil appear incomplete as follows:
- University of Pennsylvania, Office of the Curator, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Control_Number: 77001611
- Beloit College, Wright Museum of Art, Beloit, Wisconsin – Control_Number: 75008855
- Amherst College, Mead Art Museum, Amherst, Massachusetts: Control_Number: 20090014
- Amherst College, Mead Art Museum, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 Accession Number: S.1932.4
Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum ~ SIRIS
Related Images:
“Sun Vow” – MacNeil’s most famous piece
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Hermon MacNeil's "Sun Vow" graces over a dozen museums including the MMA in NYC.
The size of this piece (72-74 measured variously) is the same of those in major museum collections. Several links on this website (see below and also “MUSEUMS: with MacNeil Art” section in lower right) connect to these “Sun Vows.” Possibly a dozen of these exist, publicly and privately.
Metropolitan Museum of Art – NYC, NY
Art Institute of Chicago
Phoenix Art Museum ~ Phoenix, AZ (Sun Vow)
The Saint Louis Art Museum ~St. Louis, MO (Reliefs over porch -Sun Vow)
His typical signature "H. A. MacNeil Sc" (Sc for Sculptor). Underneath the initials "RRS" (for "Roman Rinehart Scholarship," his sponsor of study) and the Location of casting "ROME"
Numerous smaller casts (about 36″) and even miniatures authorized by MacNeil himself were cast up until the 1920s. These also are highly desirable and found in many museums.
Buffalo Bill Historical Center – Cody WY (Sun Vow)
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando FL
Chrysler Museum of Art – Norfolk, VA
Herman Atkins MacNeil often placed “Sc” behind his signature on sculptures (as seen above, and in other photos on his signature on this website.
According to McSpadden, an article on MacNeil in the Craftsman stated,
“In The Moqui Runner, The Primitive Chant, The Sun Vow, The Coming of the White Man, and many others of his Indian statues, MacNeil always gives you the feeling of the Indian himself, of his attitude toward his own culture of the Sun Vow that MacNeil has memorialized, are a compounded and profound statement of the power of art and artists. vanishing tribes, and his point of view toward the white race which has absorbed his country. It is never the Indian of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, trapped out for curiosity seekers, but the grave, sad, childlike man of the plains, faithful to his own tribe, once loyal to us, though now resentful; and always a thinker, a poet, and a philosopher.” (McSpadden lists the following source: “The Art of MacNeil,” Craftsman. September 1909).
( See also: Florence Finch Kelly, “American Bronzes at the Metropolitan Museum: An Important Collection in Process of Formation.” Craftsman, 1907: Volume XI, February 1907, Number 5, pp 545-559.)
Dr. Andrew Walker, an associate curator at the St. Louis Art Museum, has written a chapter in “Shaping the West.” MacNeil’s ‘Sun Vow’ was chosen for the cover photo of that publication by the Denver Art Museum. Walker’s essay there is entitled: “Hermon Atkins MacNeil and the 1904 World’s Fair: A Monumental Program for the American West.” Walker has written and presented extensively on MacNeil.
It is all in the faces - the ideals passed to a new generation.
While highlighting the work of Hermon Atkins MacNeil, Dr. Walker illustrates how the 1904 World’s Fair included a monumental sculpture initiative. He does this with narrative and photo description of the major sculptures that formed the grounds, fountains, waterfalls and buildings of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis. The current St. Louis Art Museum (where Walker is a curator) was the “Palace of Fine Arts” conceived by Cass Gilbert, architect of the fair grounds (and later the US Supreme Court Building). Over a century later, Mac Neil’s three sculpture relief panels still look down from their vantage point above the three sets of doors at the main entrance.
The 'Sun Vow' at the MMA - NYC - with Daniel Chester French's "Angel of Death" in relief in background (See also Webmaster's <= Comment at left.
The more I study this sculpture (as other MacNeil pieces?) the more new details I find in MacNeil’s creations.
The photo at right shows MacNeil’s Sun Vow with Daniel Chester French’s “Angel of Death” in the background. French and MacNeil were colleagues and collaborators. The Angel of Death has grasped the hand of the sculptor. See more of this DCF piece HERE.
Webmaster’s Comment: The beauty and ‘irony’ of the two sculptures together, long after the death of the two sculptors and the vanishing of the culture of the Sun Vow that MacNeil has memorialized, are a compounded and profound statement of the power of art and artists.
SOURCES:
-
SHAPING THE WEST : American Sculptors of the 19th Century. With additional essays by Alice Levi Duncan, Thayer. Tolles, Peter Hassrick, Sarah E. Boehme, and Andrew Walker.
- Florence Finch Kelly, “American Bronzes at the Metropolitan Museum: An Important Collection in Process of Formation.” Craftsman, 1907: Volume XI, February 1907, Number 5, pp 545-559.)
Related Images:
Hermon MacNeil at the 1893 Columbian Exposition ~ ~ ~ THE CHICAGO YEARS ~ ~
Posted by: | CommentsCHICAGO YEARS: Partners and Colleagues
When Hermon MacNeil came home to the United States from Paris, he did not return to Cornell. He stopped in New York to consult with Augustus Saint Gaudens about finding work as a sculptor. Saint Gaudens referred him to Philip Martiny, a former student and assistant, who was doing preliminary sketches for the Chicago Worlds Fair (World’s Columbian Exposition) to take place in that city in 1893.
So MacNeil chose to settle in Chicago where this collosal World’s Fair was “being born.” This decision proved momentous in many ways. In his ‘Chicago Years’ he met people who would remain professional colleagues and friends for the next four decades. These included Frederick MacMonnies, Lorado Taft, his pupil, Carol Louise Brooks (who MacNeil was to marry in 1895), Daniel Chester French, as well as architects Daniel Burnham, Stanford White, and Charles Follen McKim. The rest of MacNeil’s career would become a repeated succession of partnerships with these colleagues on projects, monuments, buildings, and memorials that were joint efforts of many Beaux Arts trained scupltors and architects associated with the American Academy in Rome.
Daily Program of Chicago World’s Fair for Wednesday, October 11, 1893. This sketch of the Electrical Building was part of the preliminary drawings of the “White City.” MacNeil made several statues on this building. [ SEE ACTUAL PHOTO BELOW ]
Administration Bldg. of the White City at the Columbian Exposition: http://members.cox.net/academia/cassatt8.html
The Chicago World’s Fair celebrated the 400 Anniversary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World and was officially known as the Columbian Exposition. Hundreds of buildings and dozens of architectural Palaces of Art, Transportation, US Government Building, Horticulture, Fisheries, and the Electricity Building were created for the event. The temporary sculptures were decorated with allegorical figures, cherubs, and statues that numbered in the thousands. They accompanied fountains, waterways, plazas, and acres of unimaginable features that became known as The White City.
The sculptures, which were carried out in staff, a weather-resistant plaster, were destroyed with the exhibition buildings, but the successful effect they produced led to further similar commissions at the Pan-American Exposition, [[Buffalo, New York (1901) and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St Louis, (1904). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Martiny
This secession of World’s Fairs celebrated the dawn of a 20th Century of Progress, as well as, an emerging image of the United States as the world’s foremost nation of progress, the inheritor of the cultural images and art of the European World. An emerging national identity, pride, and arrogance are all visible in the history of these endeavors. The video links at the end of this post capture these and other aspects of the magical extravagance and promotion of these global endeavors.
It is difficult in our day to get a feel for what these Expositions were. They were comparable to a new Disneyland being built every three or four years. Incidentally, Walt Disney’s father, Elias Disney worked in construction for the Chicago Fair. Some evidence exists that these fairs inspired Disney:
He was a construction worker for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, an event which author Erik Larson cites as a source of inspiration for his son Walt and the Disney kingdom he would eventually create. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Disney)
The links to videos below give additional perspective of the detail and scope of these Expositions. Take time to enjoy these modern reviews of this gilded time.
MacNeil would win the Rinehart scholarship, passing three years (1896-1899) in Rome and eventually spend another year in Paris.
List of World’s Fairs: Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world%27s_fairs#1890s
A statue of Ben Franklin stood at the entrance of the Electricity Building which housed the Tower of Light, displays by Western Electric, General Electric, American Bell Telephone, Edison’s lasest phonographs and hundreds of other electrical exhibits from around the world.
Video Links on Chicago World’s Fair ~ Columbian Exposition
- Brief overview The White City. (1:17)
- 1893 Chicago World\’s Fair (Columbian Exposition) Documentary (9:13) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpBl1Nqjyc&NR=1
- Expo: Magic of the White City Magic of the White City Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEi3S1HRRoA&NR=1
- The World’s Columbian Exposition – architectural animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3izaIpXcBU4&feature=related
- Composite panorama photo: http://newsburglar.com/2008/10/17/one-last-chicago-expo-photo/
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