Archive for Lawyer Lincoln
#4 ~ Presidents Day 2023 – MacNeil-Brooks Month
Posted by: | CommentsHermon MacNeil’s 3 Sculptures
for Presidents Day
2023
Presidents Day honors the February birthdays of
George Washington (Feb 22nd) and
Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12th)
Presidents’ Day, officially Washington’s Birthday, in the United States,
(third Monday in February)
popularly recognized as honoring
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
The day is sometimes understood as a celebration of the
birthdays and lives of all U.S. presidents.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
View MacNeil’s Presidents yourself > > > >
George Washington – Postings of MacNeil’s
George Washington as Commander-in-Chief
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Abraham Lincoln – Postings of MacNeil’s
Abraham Lincoln – Prairie Lawyer
William McKinley – Postings of MacNeil’s
William McKinkey
HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY 2023
Related posts:
- ~ ~ ~ MacNeil’s SCULPTURES of PRESIDENTS ~ ~ ~ An Inauguration Day Reflection. (6) On this Presidential Inaugural Day, the 57th in our history,…
- Presidents Day 2020 ~~ MacNeil Month ~~ Wm. McKinley ~~ Abe Lincoln ~~ Geo. Washington ~~ “THEY ARE ALL THERE” — H.A MacNeil’s Sculptures of 3 Presidents ~~ (5) “They are still there” celebrates several re-visits and discoveries of…
- Happy Birthday Mr. Washington! ~ Part TWO ~ MacNeil Month #6 ~ The President Who would NOT be King. (4) NOTE: February 22nd marks the 279th Birthday of George Washington….
- INDEPENDENCE DAY Images ~ from Hermon A. MacNeil (4) Here are a few images of Independence from Hermon Atkins…
- Hermon Atkins MacNeil to be featured in “The Galley” (4) Hermon MacNeil was the first president of the Clan MacNeil…
- 153rd Anniversary of the Birth of Hermon Atkins MacNeil ~ American Sculptor ~ Feb 27, 1866 (4) I never met Hermon MacNeil. I never met my maternal…
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Dave Wiegers captures another “Lincoln Lawyer”
Posted by: | CommentsLincoln buff and talented amateur photographer David B. Wiegers sent us a photo of an additional “Lincoln Lawyer” bust by Hermon A. MacNeil.
This one makes its home in the Law Library at Pennsylvania University. Dave snapped these shots there recently.
Law Library at Pen Law School. ~~~ PHOTOS: Courtesy of Dave Wiegers Photography
The piece resides at the Law Library of the University of Pennsylvania. It is new to this website.
Eight of these busts were cast in about 1911 from a standing Lincoln piece that MacNeil sculpted in 1911.
Wiegers pairs (1.) his love of photography with (2.) a quest to travel to every Lincoln statue and monument in the 35 states he has visited in the last 15 years.
- See his story at: https://dbwiegers.zenfolio.com/about.html
- And view over 500 photos of his Lincoln Collection on the front end of his website: https://dbwiegers.zenfolio.com/
Not pictured on his website is his Boston Terrier, named “Lincoln.”
© Dave Wiegers Photography
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Penn Law Journal describes their “Lincoln Lawyer Bust” this way:
Opposite the front entrance, in full view straight ahead on the massive staircase leading up to the library from the Great Hall, stands a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, who led the most massive legal and political reform the United States has ever known, is a superb example of legal greatness as Lewis Hall has memorialized it-of revolution in the interest of tradition. For Lincoln avowedly fought to realize the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, even as he essentially restructured the legal landscape in the interests of fundamental justice.
The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Great Hall, which faces the original entrance to the Law School, was immediately visible upon passing through the massive twin doors on 34th Street. The symbolic power of the statue, the role of Lincoln as martyr to resurrection of the righteousness of the American republic, gave students a tangible focus for legal greatness, a sense that lawyerly skills were integral to the discernment and sense of justice of the most heroic of all American presidents.
The Penn Law Journal of 2014 [Vol. 31, Iss. 2 [2014], Art. 1 ]
“Uncle Hermon would be Proud too.” dnl
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“They are still there” celebrates several re-visits and discoveries of MacNeil works made in 2019. This Presidents Day we look again at:
- “William McKinley” statue in Columbus, Ohio.
The Statue of Wm. McKinley stands in front of Ohio Capitol looking out over the city of Columbus. I always marvel at MacNeil’s works all over the U.S. of A.
- The “Lincoln Lawyer” of Illinois
Image from the Re-dedication Day of Lincoln Hall at University of Illinois in Champagne-Urbana in 2012.
This Lincoln Hall image was on the Tee Shirts worn by student-guides on Feb 12, 2012 for the re-opening of the renovated Hall
- Washington Square in New York City.
General George Washington with Flags (U.S. and POW/MIA) ~ Washington Arch Greenwich, NYC (Photo courtesy of: Gibson Shell – 2011)
In NYC MacNeil’s likeness of General Washington guards the rear flanks of the Washington Arch.
President McKinley was assassinated at the 1902 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. MacNeil was an exhibitor and sculpted the Award medal for that Worlds Fair. He later was awarded the commission for this McKinley Monument at the Ohio Capitol Square in Columbus.
McKinley detail ~ foot of “Industry” – a Blacksmith.
Industry and and his youthful student – allegorical figures in the McKinley grouping.
McKinley quote after taking office in 1900.
“Prosperity” and her her understudy, “Peace”
Here are three old Photos of the McKinley Monument
Early 1900s Postcard of McKinley Monument.
McKinley grouping in front of Ohio Capitol.
MacNeil’s 1915 “Lincoln” in Lincoln Hall
The restored East Foyer of Lincoln Hall with its gilted vaulted ceiling and columns makes a dramatic setting for Hermon A. MacNeil’s bust of Abrabam Lincoln as the famed prairie lawyer who left Illinois to lead the nation through the War to preserve the Union and the succession South states.
Another of Hermon MacNeil’s “Lincoln Lawyer” was found at the Rushville (Illinois) Public Library. The happy webmaster was pleased to see it and meet the Library staff. I am sure you recognize Abe Lincoln. Well the guy smilin’ on the right is me, Dan Leininger [the “happy webmaster of HAM (https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/)
MacNeil of Barra tartan
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Another “Lawyer Lincoln” comes forward from Rushville Public Library. (Part 1)
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“Lincoln Lawyer” Hermon MacNeil’s sculpture bust of Abraham Lincoln. Pictured at its home for the last 91 years.
Since 2010, this website has become a gathering point for questions and information about Hermon Atkins MacNeil.
The most recent inquiry came from the “Land of Lincoln” about MacNeil’s Abraham Lincoln which depicts the young Illinois lawyer in his clean-shaven years riding the 8th Circuit of the Illinois Court.
Marian Fretueg wrote the following:
While I was doing some research I came across a 1928 Rushville Times of Rushville, Illinois newspaper article which told of a bust of Abraham Lincoln sculpted by Hermon A. MacNeil purchased by Albert Morris Bagby of New York City. Mr. Bagby had the bust shipped to Rushville and was to be temporarily placed at the city’s library to be enjoyed by all the patrons. Rushville, Illinois was Mr. Bagby’s hometown. For some reason or other, the sculpture was never moved from our library and it now proudly on display in our new library.
After some research I could not find where this sculpture is mentioned anywhere, there was a bust of Abraham Lincoln at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Were you aware of this sculpture? I am sure it is the real thing with his name and the bronze factory where it was made on the base of the sculpture.
I have included a picture of the bust, the autograph of Mr. MacNeil’s and the stamp of the Roman Bronze Works. There is also a copy of the accessions book where the bronze bust was given to the library in 1928.
It was so exciting when I was reading about Mr. Bagby’s gift and then reading about Mr. MacNeil and how famous he was. I would love to hear from you and find out if you were aware of this bust.
Thank you so much for your time.
Marian Fretueg
The distinctive signature of the artist on the back of the bust. LincolnRushvilleIL-4.jpg
LincolnRushvilleIL-4.jpg
Dear Marian Fretueg,
Thank you for your kind email and the lovely pictures of Rushville Public Library’s “Lincoln Lawyer” By Hermon Atkins MacNeil. I ask your permission to publicize this work as the Webmaster of HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com
I can tell you are a researcher, because you found my ‘digital museum’ dedicated to the life and work of Hermon A. MacNeil, or as my late mother called him, her “Uncle Hermon”
I would like to visit the Rushville Library to meet you and to photograph this piece for posting on my website. Your piece has its own history in Rushville as a “Land of Lincoln” community with a benefactor donating this beautiful monument to the prairie lawyer who rode the 8 Circuit that covers Rushville and much of Illinois.
To my knowledge eight (8) of these MacNeil Works were cast at Roman Bronze Works (RBW) in New York City. The Rushville piece would appear to be the 5th of the eight that I am able to locate with my website and help from researchers like yourself. As the enclosed link tells the history, the original statue was a Standing Lincoln submitted in about 1924 for a contest of a commission which MacNeil did not win.
About 1928 he had 8 busts cast at RBW using the original Standing Lincoln as his model. Lorado Taft loved the piece and recommended it to the University of Illinois to grace the marble foyer of Lincoln Hall at the university.
The Hall was remodeled about 2010. I have humorous stories in the link below that tell how the Lincoln Lawyer bust was “locked-up” for safe keeping during the 1 year of reconstruction. It was also “kidnapped” by students at one point in the university’s history.
I have 11 different stories (postings) that come up in a search of “Lincoln Lawyer” as I call this piece of MacNeil work. There are 2 pages that come up on this brief search. Click below to see the articles in the search:
Thus began our discussion on this recent discovery.
Thanks to Marian Fretueg and Rushville Public Library, photos of another “Lincoln Lawyer” by Hermon MacNeil has been added to the website.
This accounts for five of the eight castings made at Roman Bronze Works in 1928.
STAY TUNED FOR MORE OF THE STORY of Rushville’s Lincoln to be posted later.
Roman Bronze Works (RBW) of New York City was a casting foundry that made thousands of bronze statues on the 19th and 20th centuries
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I never met Hermon MacNeil.
I never met my maternal grandfather, Tom Henry McNeil.
ALL OF LIFE and our family histories are filled with people we HAVE NEVER MET.
In 2014 I wrote an article for the MacNeil Clan Magazine,
The Galley.
I include the the pages and the text of that article below in this post:
The photos can also be viewed in this previous post.
Hermon Atkins MacNeil – American Sculptor – (1866-1947)
MacNeil Clan history, like all family history, is filled with people we have never met. One MacNeil who has always fascinated me is Hermon Atkins MacNeil. Researching “Uncle” Hermon has also led me to another amazing man, Robert Lister MacNeil. Both men were present when the Clan MacNeil Association was formed ninety-three years ago.
MacNeil kinsman.
On May 26, 1921, the Clan MacNeil Association of America was organized in New York City. Central to that moment were Robert Lister MacNeil, (The MacNeil of Barra – 45th Chief of the Clan), and Hermon Atkins MacNeil, a sculptor, who served as the clan’s first president. At that time, Robert Lister was 32 years of age, a practicing architect in New York City, and a veteran of the First World War. He had succeeded to the chiefship of the Clan MacNeil just six years earlier. His dreams of the Isle of Barra and restoring Kisimul Castle (as told in his book The Castle in the Sea) were but faint hopes that would await decades and the efforts of many MacNeils for their accomplishment.
Dan “Neil” Leininger in a MacNeil kilt at Kisimul Castle, Isle of Barra, Scotland 2014. WHAT A TOUR it was!!!
His other kinsman was Hermon Atkins MacNeil. Hermon was the older of the two, an accomplished sculptor, also practicing in New York City, he had already created a myriad of statues, sculptures, monuments, as well as, the U.S. Standing Liberty Quarter first minted in 1916. Although these two MacNeils were 23 years apart in age, they were both trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, a school for architects and sculptors in the Classic Greco-Roman styles. A lasting bond between them formed through their shared artistic talents, professional skills, and years of Clan MacNeil activity.
Hermon MacNeil designed a bronze plaque that was unveiled and dedicated on May 28, 1928 on the campus of Flora MacDonald College in Red Springs, NC. The plaque commemorated the 1735 landing of Neil MacNeil of Jura, Scotland with 350 followers. This group made up mostly of clan members landed at the Cape Fear Settlement in North Carolina. The plaque was placed on a red granite stone and marked another clan project shared by these two men.
In his later years, Robert Lister stated: “Hermon was an outstanding sculptor and one of my dearest friends all the rest of his life.” In 1970, six years after publishing those words, Robert Lister MacNeil died at the age of 81. Twenty-three years earlier (in 1947), Hermon Atkins MacNeil had died, also at the same age of 81. All of the above was discovered as I “searched for Uncle Hermon.” I never met either of these two MacNeil men. The more I learn of them both, the more striking I find the parallels in their lives.
MacNeil roots. The third MacNeil man that I never met was my own grandfather, Tom Henry McNeil (1860-1932). Whenever my mother spoke of her father or of her “Uncle Hermon,” I would see a certain smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye. Emotionally, recalling her McNeil memories seemed to take her to “a very pleasant place.” On the MacNeil family tree, her father and Hermon MacNeil were first cousins. But “Uncle Hermon” was what the whole family always called him and what he always considered himself to be. Though she did not share them often, my mother’s stories instilled in me a sense of “wonder” about these two “MacNeil” men.
Genetically, my mother gave all of us six children her MacNeil biology, but when I first realized that my parents also gave me the middle name of “Neil,” I felt some extra portion of my Scottish ancestry. That feeling has only grown as I get older. My grandfather McNeil died before I was born. I was just two years old when Hermon MacNeil died. Now as an old man myself this MacNeil heritage and my memories of the sparkle in mother’s eyes have expanded my interest in these three MacNeils, and in the many other MacNeils that I have yet to meet.
MacNeil pursuits. So I am pursuing my MacNeil Clan interests in several ways. In 2010 I formally began searching for “Uncle Hermon” by building a “digital gallery” of the life and work as a sculptor. I built HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com, a website dedicated to making his sculpture and career available to the world. A web search of the name “Hermon MacNeil” will take you there. His sculptures, statues, monuments are scattered from Washington, DC to Portland, Oregon, and from New York City to Gallup, New Mexico. Now this virtual gallery features over 500 photos and 125 stories of Hermon MacNeil’s life and work. There you can see his statues of George Washington from Washington Arch, NYC; Ezra Cornell at Cornell University, William McKinley at Columbus, Ohio; Abraham Lincoln at Champaign, Illinois; Pony Express at St. Joseph, Missouri; Pere Marquette in Chicago; and monuments in Philadelphia, Charleston, Albany, and Flushing, and dozens of other cities.
In 2013 I became a member of the Clan MacNeil Association of America. I did not know its existence until I saw the 1928 news story of the MacNeil plaque dedication in Red Springs. For the last three yearsI have shared “MacNeil stories” at our annual family reunion of my siblings and our children and grand children. In August 2013 I went to my first Highland Festival. My nephew in Colorado told me about the attended the Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Fest in Estes Park. What a great celebration of Celtic pride and heritage.
Donna and I have booked our spots on the 2014 MacNeil Clan Tour of Scotland. We reserved our passage before I received the Fall/Winter issue of The Galley with Rory MacNeil’s invitation to the World Gathering of the Clan MacNeil on the Isle of Barra from August 4-7, 2014. We hope to meet some of you there this summer.
- I joined Clan MacNeil Association I have attended the 2013 Estes Park Highland Fest
- I have booked spots for Donna and I on the 2014 MacNeil Clan Tour of Scotland
- I continue to research HAM
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Lincoln Hall Revisited ~ 2017~ 6 year Nose Check-up!
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July 21, 2011. The restored bust on display at the Spurlock Museum at University of Illinois. After a thorough cleaning and patina restoration, MacNeil’s Lincoln bust went on public display for one year in the Spurlock Museum. This was the first showing of the piece in full circle — 360 degree visibility.
MacNeil’s Abe Lincoln (above) was cleaned and the patina restored in 2011 when Lincoln Hall was reconstructed for its 100th Anniversary.
After six years back in his old niche in the east foyer entrance of beautiful Lincoln Hall, I was curious about how much wear Lincoln’s “lucky nose” had sustained from student caresses on their way to exams and classes.
So, while traveling to visit family in Kentucky, Virginia, and NC in July 2017, we made opportunity to spend the night in Urbana, Illinois. We turned very appropriately onto “Lincoln Street” off of I-74 and found a motel for the night.
The next morning (Monday, July 31st) we ventured off toward the restored Lincoln Hall on the University of Illinois campus. Wiggling through blocks of summer street construction into Wright Street, we parked and walked toward the Main Quad.
Larado Taft’s Alma Mater
Lorado Taft’s powerful allegorical grouping “Alma Mater” (with Learning and Labor) at the corner of Eighth and Wright Street greeted us. (Taft was the alumnus who recommended MacNeil’s bust of Lincoln over other artists considered for placement in the Hall in 1924.) For More on Taft click HERE
We met an alumnae who had dropped her son off for summer workshops. She asked us to take her picture with the Alma Mater behind her. Turned out she was originally from Beresford, SD and planned to retire in the Black Hills. Small world.
Abe Lincoln’s nose has a well worn shine again. The patina restoration in 2011 has given way to the”petting” and “well wishes of 100’s of hands” seeking blessings from Old Honest Abe.
We walked into the old quadrangle at the center of campus. Walking the brick walks of the lush green lawn. we arrived at the east entrance of Lincoln Hall. We stopped to admire the terra-cotta bas-relief panels placed above the high windows of the building. They depict scenes from the life of the prairie lawyer memorialized in this beautiful hall.
The restored East Foyer of Lincoln Hall with its gilded vaulted ceiling and columns makes a dramatic setting for Hermon A. MacNeil’s bust of Abraham Lincoln as the famed prairie lawyer who left Illinois to lead the nation through the War to preserve the Union and the succession South states.
Entering the East Foyer, we could see the Lincoln bust before us. The magnificent Beaux Arts style of the ceiling formed a vaulted arch spanning above the wings of the white marble stairs and landing. This splendidly restored foyer dominated the life-size bust of our sixteenth President centered on the landing in its gold-leafed niche.
The tradition of touching Lincoln’s nose for “good luck” has passed on to another generation of Illini students since the restoration.
Even from the doorway a “bronze glow” could be glimpsed on Abe Lincoln’s nose. He was wearing his well-worn shine again. As predicted, the brown patina of the 2011 restoration had given way to the”petting” and “well wishes of 100’s of hands” seeking blessings from Old Honest Abe. The tradition has carried on to Lincoln Hall’s second century.
The bronze relief plaque containing the words of the Address at Gettysburg was on our right. The gold gilding of the column capitals and the rosettes in the vaulted arch of the ceiling, gave an inspiring elegance to this hall of remembrance.
In the elegance of this hallowed hall, Abe’s “accessible nose” adds a tactile legacy and fitting tribute to learning in the “Land of Lincoln.”
Related Images:
Hermon MacNeil Featured in “The Galley”
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Dan Leininger holds the “Galley” for Summer 2014 with MacNeil’s “Pony Express” statue on the cover and an 8 page feature story inside.
“Clan MacNeil Connections and Hermon Atkins MacNeil”
The current issue of the Clan MacNeil Association of America magazine has a feature story on Hermon Atkins MacNeil by webmaster, Dan Leininger
The Galley edited by Vicki Sanders Corporon titles Dan’s story as “Clan MacNeil Connections and Hermon Atkins MacNeil.” The feature and photos fill 8 pages in the “Galley” issue for Spring/Summer 2014.
Ezra Cornell statue at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY was dedicated in 1918 after WWI. Page 19 of the “Galley” (This Photo from Cornell University is Courtesy of Chris Carlsen).
Page 20 of the “Galley” for Summer 2014
The featured photos include the East Pediment of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. (with a detail close-up of Moses, Confucius, and Salon); The George Rogers Clark monument in Vincennes, IN at the site of his victory over the British in 1779; Confederate Defenders of Charleston, SC; the Young Lawyer Abraham Lincoln in Champaign, IL; General George Washington on the Washington Arch, NYC, NY. Also in this article are photos of the grouping Coming of the White Man in Portland, OR; The WWI Angel of Peace Monument in Flushing NY; and a bust of Dwight L. Moody (who MacNeil sketched during the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair.
Page 18 of the “Galley” for Summer 2014
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Hermon Atkins MacNeil to be featured in “The Galley”
Posted by: | CommentsHermon MacNeil was the first president of the Clan MacNeil Association of America. This summer, the Galley will contain a feature article about him, written by Dan Leininger, webmaster of this website — HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com.
“The Galley” Spring/Summer 2013; Official Publication of the Clan MacNeil Association of America
The previous posting of February 8, 2013, entitled, “MacNeil Kinsman ~ Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Robert Lister MacNeil,” tells part of the story of these two men.
Vicki Sanders Corporon, editor of the Galley, has accepted the article and accompanying photos that tell more of the story. She said in recent correspondence:
“Thanks for sending such excellent photos of Hermon’s sculptures. I know their inclusion, along with your article, will be the highlight of the upcoming issue! He really was one of America’s finest sculptors … how important is your mission to make sure he is fully appreciated!”
Sculpture photos of the Supreme Court (East Pediment); George Washington from the Washington Arch in NYC; Abraham Lincoln from University of Illinois; Ezra Cornell at Ithaca; Confederate Defenders Monument (1932) Charleston harbor, SC; and George Rogers Clark at Vincennes will illustrate the story.
On May 26, 1921, the Clan MacNeil Association of America was organized in New York City. Central to that moment were Robert Lister MacNeil, (The MacNeil of Barra – 45th Chief of the Clan), and Hermon Atkins MacNeil, the clan’s first president.
Stay tuned for more as the publication is released.
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Finishing touches clean the marble niche where MacNeil’s Lincoln bust will greet Illini students in Lincoln Hall
A 1958 photo of lawyer Abe Lincoln (with NO beard) as he appeared at the time of the debates with Senator Stephen Douglas and as MacNeil portrayed him.
Hermon MacNeil’s bronze bust of self-educated Illinois Lawyer Abe Lincoln was returned to its gloriously restored niche in Lincoln Hall on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana to begin its second century on the Illinois Circuit of higher education.
MacNeil’s standing Lincoln model from the Smithsonian Institute photo archives. The piece was made for a commission competition after 1906.
MacNeil originally sculpted a full length, standing model of the Illinois Lawyer that he later re-sculpted as a bust. From that piece he had Roman Bronze Works make eight castings of his Lincoln Lawyer. In 1928 at the recommendation of Lorado Taft, the University of Illinois purchased this one of the MacNeil sculptures of the younger Lincoln.
In 1929, MacNeil’s work provided an iconic centerpiece for the Grand Stairway foyer of newly designed building. On February 12, 2012, the restored bust was returned to its original niche, in the beautifully renovated Lincoln Hall.
For MORE history on the “Lawyer Lincoln” CLICK HERE
PHOTOS and MORE: The lead photo above and three photos below are from the website of the Lincoln Hall Renovation (CLICK HERE) project at the University of Illinois. They show the re-installation of MacNeil’s work. The University has now completed the $66.4 million dollar restoration (Fact Sheet) of Lincoln Hall. [SEE MORE MacNeil-Lincoln history below the photos]:
MacNeil’s restored bust of young Abe Lincoln was bolted to a marble plate that could be cemented into place.
The work crew of masons set the MacNeil’s Lincoln bust back into the niche at the Grand Staircase of Lincoln Hall
A worker sweeps the marble stairs of Lincoln Hall foyer as photographers get set to record the return of Hermon MacNeil’s bust of young Lawyer Abe Lincoln to its perch where a second century of Illini students will pass by.
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
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~ ~ ~ MacNeil’s SCULPTURES of PRESIDENTS ~ ~ ~ An Inauguration Day Reflection.
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Lincoln Bible and king Bible as Barack Obama takes Oath (http://www.theyeshivaworld.com)
2013
On this Presidential Inaugural Day, the 57th in our history, President Barack H. Obama will take the Oath of the Office of President of the United States. He will place his hand on two Bibles. One used by President Abraham Lincoln, and a second belonging to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, whose birthday is also celebrated on this today. This Inaugural Day comes fifty years after M. L. King spoke at the Civil Rights March at the Lincoln Memorial and 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
THEREFORE, in tribute to this historic day, we offer images of the three Presidents of the United States that Hermon Atkins MacNeil sculpted in his lifetime ~~ George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and William McKinley.
Washington and ‘Valor’ in profile
A visit to Illinois in 2011 included a stop at the Abe Lincoln bust at Spurlock Museum at U of I. The sculpture will no longer be viewable in-the-round after being returned to its permanent home in the sparklingly-restored Lincoln Hall on campus
MacNeil originally sculpted a standing model of the Illinois Lawyer that he later re-sculpted as a bust. From that piece he had Roman Bronze Works make eight castings of his Lincoln Lawyer. This one is at the University of Illinois and will be returned to the Lincoln Hall when renovation is completed. (For more on Lincoln busts see below.)
The Smithsonian Institute archives contain this photo of MacNeil’s Lincoln standing.
Hermon A. MacNeil’s “Lincoln Lawyer” at the University of Illinois
McKinley Statue in Columbus, Ohio.
McKinley making his last public speech. before he was assassinated, Buffalo, New York, September 5, 1901. (His pose in this photo resembles that of MacNeil’s statue of him in 1904). (Credit: Frances B. Johnson-Ohio Historical Society-AL00501)
MacNeil’s McKinley at Ohio Statehouse plaza
MORE on MacNEIL’s BUSTS of LINCOLN: Art and museum records locate four of MacNeil’s eight “Lincoln Lawyer” castings. Public records of the four other “Lincoln Lawyer” busts by MacNeil appear to be incomplete according to the following documentation by the Smithsonian Museum:
- 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
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Lorado Taft offered praise for ‘promising Native works’ of Hermon Atkins MacNeil in 1903
Posted by: | CommentsIn the early 1900s, because of his knowledge and authorship on American Sculpture, Lorado Taft was referred to by many as ‘the Dean of American Sculpture.’ He offered early praise for Hermon Atkins MacNeil. His admiration of MacNeil’s work continued into the 1920s when he recommended MacNeil’s “Lawyer Lincoln” bust to the University Of Illinois to grace the spiral entry foyer of Lincoln Hall.
In Chapter XXIII of his volume “THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN SCULPTURE” (originally published in 1903), Taft offers the following praise of the young MacNeil:
THE YOUNGER GENERATION IN NEW YORK
The opening twentieth century brings before us a group of young sculptors equipped by nature and by training as in the past few Americans have been. …
One of the most promising of this number is Hermon A. MacNeil. …
Marquette Panel #4 (detail)
Well equipped with the training which the Parisian studios give, Mr. MacNeil was early discontented with the banality of modern sculptural themes. The makeshift subjects of his comrades seemed to him unworthy. He wanted to do things more original and more truly expressive. Western life and the Indian had for him a great appeal, and he made several trips to the redman’s reservations north and west, in order to study what he considered the most sculptural motifs which America offers.
His reliefs over the doors of the Marquette building in Chicago — scenes of the life and death [ p. 437 > p. 438 ] of Pere Marquette — show to what good use he put his material. He was wont to talk of the artistic possibilities of the Indian in sculpture with an enthusiasm that was eloquent if not always convincing. To him they were as fine as Greek warriors and as worthy to be immortalized. …
More of Taft’s critique on H. A. MacNeil will be offered in upcoming postings on HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com.
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Happy Birthday! ~ Hermon A. MacNeil from Mr. Lincoln of Illinois ~ MacNeil Month 2012
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Hermon MacNeil's sculpture of Abe Lincoln wears a 'Happy Birthday' Hat
Abe Lincoln is helping celebrate Hermon A. MacNeil’s birthday on February 27th of this week. The sculptor was born in 1866 in Chelsea, Mass nearly ten months after Mr. Lincoln was assassinated.
Actually, the statue’s festive hat shown here was for the 100th birthday of the Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois where the restored sculpture has been displayed for the last year.
This week the Abe Lincoln will be moved by university officials (not the Statue Liberation Society as in 1979 – CLICK HERE). After March 1st the bust will be set into place in the refurbished Lincoln Hall.
Only three days remain to see the restored statue of Abraham Lincoln in-the-round, the way Hermon MacNeil sculpted it.
A visit to Illinois last week included a stop at the Abe Lincoln bust at Spurlock Museum at U of I. The sculpture will no longer be viewable in-the-round after being returned to its permanent home in the sparklingly-restored Lincoln Hall on campus.
MacNeil’s Abe Lincoln bust of the clean-shaven Illinois lawyer, senator and orator has become a beloved icon of Campus history. The MacNeil work of Lincoln will continue to greet students, visitors and staff from central prominence in the spiral stairway. It gives dramatic focus to the Main Entrance of the Hall named for this favorite son.
The relocation will add the ‘crowning’ touch to the Main Lobby. Once again, MacNeil’s ‘Lawyer Lincoln’ will look out from his perch in the circular stairwell.
In traveling through Champaign-Urbana, the Spurlock Museum was open last Saturday. I made some poor-quality video of the statue in its 360 degree perspective and viewed again the MacNeil signature and ‘Roman Bronze Works’ marking on the rear of the piece.
MacNeil’s Lincoln, unlike most sculptures of him, is the ‘Lawyer Lincoln.’ Mr. Lincoln’s thirty-years in Illinois were the formative experiences that prepared him to be the statesman and leader of world-renown that he became as U.S. President during the preservation of the Union. (See the Feb 12th posting below)
The Lincoln bust will no longer be viewable in~the~round after this week.
Related Images:
“Abe Lincoln” of Illinois ~ See MacNeil’s sculpture ‘in-the-round’ ~ MacNeil Month 2012
Posted by: | CommentsTime is running out to see the refurbished Abraham Lincoln statue in-the-round, the way Hermon MacNeil sculpted it.
MacNeil's Lincoln bust is beautifully restored on public display in the Spurlock Museum
We are told that the Spurlock Museum’s exhibit may end this spring or early summer. The restored piece by Hermon A. MacNeil will return to the pristinely resurrected Lincoln Hall. The relocation awaits the completion of the Main Lobby of the newly refurbished Hall.
Once again, MacNeil’s ‘Lawyer Lincoln’ will returned to his perch in the niche of the circular stairway.
Last time I traveled through Champaign, the Spurlock Museum was closed for the Christmas-New Year holidays. I wanted to video the statue in its 360 degree perspective and rephotograph the MacNeil signature and ‘Roman Bronze Works’ marking on the rear of the piece.
MacNeil’s Lincoln, unlike most sculptures of him, is the ‘Lawyer Lincoln.’ He is clean-shaven, no beard, no ‘Mr. President Lincoln.’
This is THE Abe Lincoln of the ‘Land of Lincoln:’
- Who came to Macon County in 1830 and build his father’s cabin.
- Who would live in Illinois for the next 30 years.
- Who settled in New Salem in 1831 to manage the mill.
- Who volunteered with the Sangamon County company going to the Indian war in 1832.
- Who returned to be appointed Postmaster of New Salem.
- Who was elected to the State Legislature in 1834, 1836, 1838 and 1840.
- Who courted Ann Rutledge, who died of ‘brain fever’ in 1835.
- Who moved to the new Capitol in Springfield in 1837 to enter the practice of LAW with John T. Stuart.
- Who Married Mary Todd of Kentucky in 1842.
- Who was elected to Congress as a Whig in 1848.
- Who traveled from Springfield by horseback across the County Seats of the Illinois Eighth Circuit Court.
- Who argued over 5000 cases ranging from murder to boundary disputes
- Who spoke in a simple and straightforward manner understandable by any farmer or citizen on the jury.
- Whose quaint, homely stories were often filled with wit and humor and that made the point clearly.
- Who campaigned for the the US Senate denouncing Stephen Douglas’ “popular sovereignty” doctrine.
- Who received 110 ballots for nomination as Vice-President at the 1856 Republican National Convention.
- Who delivered his “House Divided” speech at the Republican State convention of 1858.
- Who challenged his opponent, Stephen Douglas, to seven debates across the state of Illinois in the 1858 Senatorial campaign.
- Who from 1858 to 1860 made speeches throughout many states defining the Republican Party’s position.
- Who won the Republican Party nomination and was elected President of the United States in 1860.
- Who left Illinois after 30 years to seek to keep those same States “United.”
- Whose body was returned to Illinois in 1865 for entombment in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield”
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Hermon A. MacNeil's "Lincoln Lawyer" at the University of Illinois
- “Now he belongs to the Ages”
Related Images:
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:
MacNeil’s “Lawyer Lincoln” at Spurlock Museum
Posted by: | CommentsThis past Friday I stopped at Spurlock Museum on the University of Illinois campus to see the newly refurbished bust of Abraham Lincoln that will return to the renovated Lincoln Hall in 2012.
Holly Koreb, Senior Director, and Dave Evensen, both from the Office of Communications and Marketing at U of I’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, met me at the museum for a guided viewing and photos. She sent the photo of me and Abe added below. That is Abe on the left. Thanks, Holly!
(And BTW, Hermon A. MacNeil was my 1st Cousin twice removed. But since he considered himself my mother’s Uncle Hermon and I think he was Great, I now consider him my Great Uncle Hermon.) Back to the Lawyer Lincoln statue …
Beautifully restored and on public display at the Spurlock Museum. “H. A. MacNeil” is the signature on the left hand side of this Lincoln Bust. “Roman Bronze Works” is the foundry mark in small letters on the left rear corner
Examining MacNeil’s creation up close was a true thrill. The restoration is beautifully done. The rich brown patina gives the piece a radiance that has not been seen in half a century or more.
Webmaster Dan Leininger visited the Spurlock exhibit of MacNeil’s restored Lincoln Bust last week. (Tour and Photo courtesy of Holly Koreb).
The chance to find and record the MacNeil signature and foundry markings (see below) were a rare treat that will prove impossible in the bust’s niche at Lincoln Hall.
The display panel at the Spurlock states, in part:
The bust, by Hermon A. MacNeil, depicts Lincoln as a young lawyer with his arms folded holding a legal document in his right hand. It was based on a full figured piece that MacNeil had submitted to the Art Commission of Illinois in a 1914 competition seeking a statue for the city of Springfield.
Although the design was not chosen, MacNeil cast eight busts from the upper part of the sculpture. In this special exhibit it is possible for the first time to view the bust outside its niche. You can see MacNeil’s fine work from all sides before it is returned to Lincoln Hall in 2012.
Lincoln the Lawyer , as depicted in Macneil’s sculpture, is one the least known aspects of this great American, BUT probably the BEST place to appreciate his skills, character and talents as a human being. A segment of an article from American History Magazine tells the ‘Lawyer – Lincoln’ story in this way:
Abraham Lincoln spent only four of his 56 years as president of the United States. Yet, given the importance of the events that marked his 1861-65 term of office, the nation’s admiration for him as a man of courage and principle, and the abundance of photographic images that recorded his presidency, it is hard for most people to think of him as anything else. But there were other facets to the career of this man who led the nation through the Civil War years. Prior to his presidency, Lincoln honed his political skills and aspirations through the practice of law.
“The bulk of Lincoln’s courtroom work took place away from Springfield as he traveled twice a year with the presiding judge and fellow lawyers to the county seats of Illinois’ Eighth Circuit Court. Since most of those who served on the juries in these small towns were farmers and other country folk, Lincoln–himself a product of a rural environment and by nature a slow talker–recognized the need to argue his cases in the simplest and most straightforward manner. As one observer noted, ‘his illustrations were often quaint and homely, but always clear and apt, and generally conclusive. . . . His wit and humor and inexhaustible store of anecdotes, always to the point, added immensely to his powers as a jury advocate.'” (Abraham Lincoln: The Lawyer. American History | Published: June 12, 2006 at 8:02 pm. CLICK HERE to see entire article )
History records that Abraham Lincoln traveled the Eighth Circuit of Illinois for nearly a quarter of a century. He stood and spoke to citizens in courtrooms involving over 5000 cases ranging from sensational murder cases to the less glamorous issues of property ownership. (Adapted from David Wiegers, Gurnee, Illinois in his comments on Larado Taft’s standing Lincoln statue in Urbana, Illinois )
- Amherst College, Mead Art Museum, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 Accession Number: S.1932.4
- 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
Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum ~ SIRIS
For an archive of Lincoln Bust postings click here:
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/category/location/illinois/university-of-illinois/
Related posts:
- “Honest Abe” On Public Display ~ MacNeil Month #7 (15.4) At the University of Illinois, Abraham Lincoln has been released…
- Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln! ~ MacNeil’s Sculpture Released from Vault ~ MacNeil Month #4 (14.3)Abe Lincoln will be a little late for his 202nd…
- MacNeil Bust of Lincoln Stored in Vault (13.5) Hermon Atkins MacNeil would probably be amused to know that…
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