WELCOME to the “Hermon A. MacNeil” — Virtual Gallery & Museum !
~ This Gallery celebrates my great Uncle, Hermon Atkins MacNeil an American classic sculptor of the Beaux Arts School. He sculpted Native images and American history: ~ World’s Fairs, statues, monuments, coins, and more… ~ Over 300 stories (25 per page) in 10 pages. (Click on Next Page >> at bottom). View thousands of photos from this virtual MacNeil Gallery. It stretches from New York to New Mexico ~ Oregon to S. Carolina. ~ 2016 marked the 150th Anniversary of Hermon MacNeil’s birth. ~ Hot-links ( lower right) lead to works by Hermon Atkins MacNeil. ~~Do you WALK or DRIVE by MacNeil sculptures DAILY! ~ TRAVEL DIGITALLY to my Uncle Hermon’s works here!
Daniel Neil Leininger, webmaster
DO YOU walk by MacNeil Statues and NOT KNOW IT ???
For over a Century the Arch and Washington statues remain a Rally Point for NYC and the Nation.
Hermon MacNeil sculpted General George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
In 1916 this sculpture was placed on the East plinth of the newly completed Washington Arch.
1946 WWII Victory Parade of the 82nd US Army Airborne between the statues of Geo Washington by Hermon A. MacNeil and Alexander Stirling Caulder.
Two years later on the west Plinth, Alexander Stirling Caulder’s statue of President George Washington was added to the west leg of the Arch.
Forty-Sixyears later Troops of the 82nd Airbornestaged a Victory Parade between the Two memorial statues of Washington, our 1st Commander and President.
Eventually, Fifth Avenue was closed off through the Park, a pond was added to South side, and Washington Park became the pedestrian venue it is today.
Now Eighty-years later, the Arch and both statues continue as a rally point for protests in NYC and the Nation.
OTHER Images from MacNeil work
MacNeil’s likeness of General Washington with Fame guarding from the rear flank.
I viewed and photographed MacNeil’s original plaster model of Washington as Commander of the Continental Army at the Swope Art Museum
inTerre Haute, Indiana,
where the plasters have been in storage since 1947 after the death of the sculptor. His widow Cecelia MacNeil released them from the MacNeil estate.
Jim Haas and Charlie Chiclacos, drove a rental van to Swope Museum in Terre Haute last year to retrieve some of these pieces.
Hermon A. MacNeil’s plaster sculpture of “George Washington” as concept study for the Washington Arch in NYC (1916) [Photo taken at Swope Museum of Terra Haute, IN by Dan Leininger]
Abortion rights activists hold a sign reading “Regulate Guns Not Wombs” as they march from Washington Square Park to Bryant Park protesting the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade by the US Supreme Court, in New York, on June 24, 2022. (Photo by ALEX KENT/AFP via Getty Images) Retrieved April 13, 2023
George Washington Sculptures at Washington Square Arch,Washington Square Park Designed by architect Stanford White, the Arch was dedicated in 1895. Washington as Commander-in-Chief, Accompanied by Fameand Valor was designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil and was installed in 1916. Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdomand Justice was designed by Alexander Stirling Calder and installed in 1918. A major restoration of the arch was completed in December 2004. Source:[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M090/news]
Here are further details on the Albany Soldiers and Sailors Monument from the The Albany Evening Journal, Sat. Oct. 6, 1912.
$100,000 was appropriated by the New York State Legislature
The final site selection was in Washington Park rather than the first in Capitol Park
A competition for design was held. The Five Jurists were:
Daniel Chester French, sculptor
Arnold W. Brunner – architect, city planner
Will H. Low – painter
William R. Mead, architect
Herbert Adams – sculptor
The Jury selected the submission of Hermon Atkins MacNeil. His design was chosen over five other noted sculptors. The jury pronounced it “the most meritorious … exceedingly chaste and dignified.”
Architects, Lord and Hewlett of New York, were associated with MacNeil’s design. They had also partnered with MacNeil on the William McKinley Monumentat the Ohio Capitol grounds in Columbus.
“The jury was unanimous in its opinion that the memorial would prove not only a beautiful piece of monumental work but something unusual. Experts who have seen it say Albany may well be proud as it will be discussed and admired in art circles the world over.”
MacNeil titled his work “The Nation in Peace Won Through Victorious War“
He said he submitted this form “because with the abundance of foliage in Washington Park” which offered background and setting for the monument.
“The dark bronze group would tend to mix and confuse with the trees and the foliage.” The mammoth white marble gave a vigorous contrast as well as being a particularly appropriate framing for the memorial.”
In addition, MacNeil’s plan of sculpting the soldiers, sailors, uniforms and equipment in bas relief would render the images more interesting and complete.
The title that MacNeil proposed implied a “just peace” rather than glorifying war. The broken shackles of slaves were made a component part of plinth on which the bronze Victory statue stands.
While MacNeil was at work on the various models in his studio at College Point, members of the Albany committees paid him many visits and changes were frequently suggested.
All these efforts added meaningful details to the multiple relief designs on all sides of the monument.
Albany, NY: This colorized post card of the 1912 “Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Albany, just blocks from the State Capitol shows the Rear view of that 22 foot Marble piece.
Eighty figures are sculpted in bas relief on the four sides of the tennessee marble. As previously posted, MacNeil named over a dozen women who served as Sculpture assistants in crafting the models for this monument in his College Point Studio. It is the the 2nd largest of his four Civil War Monuments.
1 Whitenville, Massachusetts, 1905. below ⇓and Right ⇒
The greenery of Albany’s Washington Park provides the setting for this marble monument sculpted by Hermon A. MacNeilsitting on a granite base, with a bronze female statue representing the Nation, as she cradles the palms and garlands of victory. The monument represents “The Nation at Peace Won Through Victorious War”.
It was erected by the Grand Army of the Republic as a monument to Civil War veterans. Restored in 1986, it was renamed the Albany Veterans Memorial Monument. On October 5, 2012, after another restoration funded by the Washington Park Conservancy, the Monument was rededicated at a ceremony which marked the city’s official observation of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
In a competition to select the design the commission selected Hermon MacNeil over five other sculptors. The bronze figure represents “The Nation at Peace Won Through Victorious War”.
The monument is 22 ft. high and 21 ft. wide; it’s built from Tennessee marble and granite from Stoney Creek.
Etched in marble behind Victory are soldiers and sailors marching to her defense.
The inscription reads:
“In commemoration of the men of Albany who gave their lives to save the Union, and in grateful recognition of all whose patriotism aided to giving to this nation under God a new birth of freedom, in making love of country a national virtue and endowing our land with peace and prosperity. “
The bronze figure of Victory represents the country. She holds palms of victory and peace, and a sheathed sword of war. Etched in marble behind her are soldiers and sailors marching to her defense. On the other side is a Civil War battery in action. One end shows a wounded drummer boy; the other a soldier returning to his wife and child. There are about 60 life size figures cut into the monument.
Back side shows a Civil War artillery battery in action.
Soldiers and Sailors’ Monument in Washington Park, Albany NY
The right end shows a wounded drummer boy.
The Left end shows a soldier coming home to his wife and child.
There are about 60 life size figures cut into the monument.
Friends of Albany told the monuments story this way:
Sometimes we take for granted the things we see every day. The Monument honoring Albany men who served in the Civil War probably falls into that category. It sits at the entrance to Washington Park at Henry Johnson Blvd.
Estimates vary, but we think about 7,000 -8,000 Albany soldiers and sailors served in the Civil War (Keep in mind the population of the city was about 62,000 in 1860.) They were old and young, married and single, and they were white and African American.
Yes, there were Black troops from Albany in the War. Most served in “Colored” regiments, but some served in “regular” regiments. (Much more research needs to be done to identify these men.)
Some of the men enlisted in regiments mustered in Albany, like the 44th New York. Others had moved out of the Albany by the time the War started, and enlisted in the towns and cities where they lived across the North.
They fought in almost every battle and naval action, from the first Battle of Bull Run, to the siege of Vicksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the clash of the Merrimack and the Monitor, and were there at the surrender at Appomattox Court House.
And those who returned formed Veteran’s organizations.*In Albany there were about 5 – my GGG Charles Zeilman, who fought at Little Round Top helped found the Lew Benedict Post. Quickly these individual posts banded together in a great association called the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).
And so the local chapters of the GAR across the country raised funds and lobbied governments for memorials to those who served and died. These monuments can be found in big cities and small towns all across the North.
Most were built in the latter part of the 19th century, but in the early part of the 1900s it became clear that the Vets were growing old and passing away. So there was a re-newed push for monuments to commemorate their heroic efforts. In Albany that began about 1906.
The New York State Legislature appropriated $100,000 and additional funds were raised. The original location selected was Capitol Park, but that changed. There was a competition to select the design; the commission was awarded to Hermon Hermon A. MacNeiland represents “The Nation of Peace Won Through Victorious War”.
The monument is 22 ft. high and 21 ft. wide; it’s built from Tennessee marble and granite from Stoney Creek.
The inscription reads:
“In commemoration of the men of Albany who gave their lives to save the Union, and in grateful recognition of all whose patriotism aided to giving to this nation under God a new birth of freedom, in making love of country a national virtue and endowing our land with peace and prosperity. “
A bronze figure represents the country. She holds palms of victory and peace, and a sheathed sword of war. Etched in marble behind her are soldiers and sailors marching to her defense. On the other side is a Civil War battery in action. One end shows a wounded drummer boy; the other a soldier returning to his wife and child. There are about 60 life size figures cut into the monument.
The memorial was dedicated with a grand ceremony and parade in October, 1912.
Until the Great War (World War I) and the creation of Memorial Grove and the Gold Star Mothers Monument in the Grove, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was the focus of all Decoration (Memorial) Day activities.
*Sadly the Veterans posts mostly excluded African American soldiers who fought in the colored regiments. But in Saratoga County Billy Lattimore, (identified in the 1860 census as mulatto) fought with the 77th NY, and was an active member of the GAR for 50 years. (His grandfather Ben Lattimore Sr., a Revolutionary War soldier, is buried in Albany Rural Cemetery. )
However, the GAR national organization did include a number of African American members and officers who fought in regular and colored regiments, including a number of men who were born enslaved in the South.
BACK ROW (lt. to rt.) George Maher, Elizabeth Brooks Maher (I always called her Aunt Bess. I was 16 when she died.), Carrie, Arthur Wyld (my grandfather) and Hermon. On the front row, Frances Brooks Wyld (my grandmother), Ellen Woodworth Brooks (my great grandmother) and Alden Finney Brooks (my great grandfather).
After contacting
Carolyn Saul,
I sent her a family photo
of MacNeil-Brooks faces
that I thought
she could recognize.
~ ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ ~
and sure enough here’s what she said …
In the back row (left to right) Carolyn named her relatives :
George Maher and
Elizabeth Brooks Maher (Carolyn’s Aunt Bess)
Carol Brooks MacNeil (Carolyn’s Great Aunt ‘Carrie’)
Arthur Wyld (Carolyn’s grandfather)
Hermon MacNeil (Carolyn’s great uncle by marriage)
Seated in the front row:
Frances Brooks Wyld (Carolyn’s grandmother),
Ellen Woodworth Brooks (Carolyn’s great grandmother) and
Alden Finney Brooks (Carolyn’s great grandfather)
CAROLYN CONTINUED WITH:
Thanks for the photo, too. You probably already know, but the people in the area photo are George Maher, Elizabeth Brooks Maher (I always called her Aunt Bess. I was 16 when she died.), Carrie, Arthur Wyld (my grandfather) and Hermon. On the front row, Frances Brooks Wyld (my grandmother), Ellen Woodworth Brooks (my great grandmother) and Alden Finney Brooks (my great grandfather).
I received the last medallion, thank you! I loved The Galley issue you sent. I appreciate you including it. You have a long way to drive from South Dakota to Virginia! I would love to meet you the next time you come through this way.
This is Haas’sixth book. All his works are rooted in the history of College Point.
James Haas grew up there in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. He learned as a boy that the twenty-five cent pieces that made a home in his pocket, were designed by a former neighbor named Hermon A. MacNeil.
The MacNeil’s built their Studio on the northern shore of College Point in 1902. The community was an easily defined peninsula on the East River, Burrough ofQueens, in New York City.
Listening and hearing tales of the generations of residents before him, Jim’s “young boy fascination” was stirred by conversations of local people and lore. As an adult he chose to capture those sagas into words. Jim distilled his writings with research and collaboration about his College Point roots and history.
Two recurring of names woven through many stories were Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Carol (“Carrie”) Brooks MacNeil. Their involvement in the Village’s efforts supporting the Great War “piqued” an additional interest in the couples service. Now in his sixth volume, Haas puts this pair (the husband-wife sculptor team) in focus at center stage.
The 20 plus chapters form a chronology of the life and works of Hermon and Carrie MacNeil. The research is thorough and thoughtful. He is a heart-felt historian of his home town roots. His story telling is as encompassing as their global accomplishments.
Cecelia MacNeil, Hermon’s widow credited the following statement to Adolph Block:
“… all that Hermon Atkins MacNeil lacks to acquire fame is a good biographer.”
Adolph Block should know. He too was a sculptor ~ (more) and a student of MacNeil
WINTER CELEBRATION AT WASHINGTON ARCH [Source: ZUMAPRESS.COM /MEGA retrieved on 2-1-2022 from [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10457267/New-Yorkers-break-HUGE-snowball-fight-Washington-Square-Park.html] ]
An Army of New Yorker’s celebrate 1 FOOT of snow with a volunteer frolic of winter surprise!
In Between Sittings, his autobiography, Jo sculpts his early home life in shapes of restlessness,rovering, and hunger.
“I was born on New York’s lower East Side and the memories of early youth are vague and shadowy. I remember long, dark halls, crowded tenements, strange sour smells, drab unpainted walls and moving — we were always moving. … we were exceedingly poor and often didn’t have enough to eat.” * Between Sittings, p. 3.
Samantha Baskind tells Jo’s story this way: Davidson was born in the ghetto of New York’s Lower East Side to immigrant parents who had fled the Russian pogroms. Encyclopaedia Judaica.
Jo “was the youngestof five children in a household of greatly limited means.” “He had a step-brother, George, and three sisters; Nancy, Rachel, and Rose.”2
Jo’s parents had real fears and emotional scars from the traumas of those anti-Jewish persecutions in Russia. After his parents emigrated to the U.S., Jo was born in New York City on March 30, 1883. Jo inherited a restless wanderer’s spirit as a an offspring of terrorized generations “who had fled the Russian pogroms” MORE.
Jo’s father, Jacob, was Jewish and a man “who lived completely within himself.” His father was “orthodox, self-absorbed, and more intent on religion than on his family.”2 He believed in miracles and fanatically hoped to hold the winning ticket in some lottery. His father’s friends teased Jacob asking if he would rather have a SON or win a MILLION dollar lottery. So after Jo was born, he was nicknamed by friends and family,“The Million.”
“Father had beautiful eyes, a long white beard, and the face of a prophet. I can still see him moving about the house almost like a spirit. He was always praying and a sign of affection from him was a rarely given luxury.” * Between Sittings, p. 3. and Joel Rosenkranz, Rediscoveries…, p. 11.
Jo went with his Father, Jacob, to synagogue on Saturdays, but kept out of his way for fear of offending him. When he asked “where did Cain get his wife?”his Father father smacked him down by stating that “with God everything is possible.”
Jacob Davidson, definitely had plans and ambitions for his son. The MILLION became the sarcastic “BRIS” label of blessing for Jacob’s only son. That moniker became a life-long label in Jo’s Life. Seven decades later, Jo entitled Chapter 1 of his autobiography, “THE MILLION!” Even after his death, Lois Harris Kuhn in her biography,The World of Jo Davidson, offered her young Jewish readers the following explanation:
“No one was ever to know for certain what it was that Jacob Davidson thought that having a son meant. Whatever it was, it was obvious — almost right away — that Jo was unlike anyone his father had expected. In Fact, Jo was like no one else. He asked far to many questions. He made pictures of everything he saw. He was so filled with life and laughter that everyone around him responded to it. Everybody — everything — small or large — interested Jo.! It was a good thing for a boy that his mother, Haya, understood him completely. ” [ Kuhn, The World of Jo Davidson, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1958. p. 4.]
Jo’s personality was much like his mother, Haya, (nee: Getzoff) “was full of an unquenchable fire that brought life to everything around her… .”
“She was tiny, energetic, practical, the one on whom the whole family leaned. The Davidson’s were exceedingly poor and often didn’t get enough to eat. She would distract the family from their hunger with her wonderful story telling of her past life in Russia, her grandfather who adored her and raised her, and their father’s family filled with scholars and rabbis.” Between Sittings, p. 3,
She was a wonderful cook, could stretch a half-pound of meat into a dozen mouths. Food was very scarce, but restlessness flourished.
“It is curious how little I remember of my school days. I was always in a dream, vague and lazy. I understand now — being underfed, I wanted to sleep all the time.
Yet for all their poverty, Jo recalls the touch of “a warm glow which came from my mother (Haya) and sisters (Nancy, Rachel, and Rose) who surrounded me with love and affection.”
Between Sittings, p. 3, 6. And Joel Rosenkranz, Rediscovderies
A Train Wreck of JOBS
The needs of the family forced Jo to leave school in his teens. What followed were a series of itinerant, dead-end tasks. He first got a job as an apprentice to a house-painter and paperhanger. He worked 12 hour a day, preparing pots and paints in the mornings and washing up and cleaning brushes after returning from jobs. “I don’t remember how I lost that job, but I did,”
What followed was a succession of endeavors: messenger boy at Western Union, office boy at a weekly, and errand boy at a bookstore. Each job ran off the tracks, as he worked too fast for fellow piece-workers, or then slowed down, and got fired by the boss.
When he got board he would sit and sketch, friends, cats, anything in sight. When he sketched other messenger boys, they told him “Jo, you are wasting your time, you ought to get a job at a newspaper.” In between jobs, he hung around art galleries, or visited the afternoon drawing class at the Educational Alliance. Eventually the idea of becoming an artist appealed to him.
Talent Leads the Way
His sister, Rachie, was teaching public school. She showed some of Jo’s sketches to an interested friend who obtained a year’s tuition for Jo at the Art Students League. He enrolled in evening classes becoming the youngest member of the live class drawing from nude living models. There he also met a friend, Waterbury, who taught pyrography — burning in sketches on leather with a pyrographic needle. He mastered the technique and could sell piece work for good pay.
He continued evening drawing classes at the Art Students League. On weekends he would go to a country sketch club and on Sundays he would paint on Richmond Hill on Staten Island. He said his paintings were timid and pale. One in a discussion group he was asked if he could shut his eyes and mentally see a desired color, red, blue, yellow. Jo recalls, ” I tried and tried but all my concentration produced nothing and it was then that I decided I was not a painter.”Between Sittings, p. 8-10.
For some time, Jo’s family thought he should become a doctor. So he was sent to New Haven moved in with his sister, Nancy, and her husband, David, a graduate of Yale Medical School. In between cramming for Regents’ exam, Jo befriended Randall the college photographer. He loaned Jo a photograph of Dr. Arthur Hadley, of Yale University. Jo began using his skills to make a burnt wood portrait of the new president. When Jo finished, Randall displayed it in his storefront window. The next morning Jo returned to the store to find a crowd of people looking in the window at his portrait. It was marked “sold.” Jo got a check for $25.
The buyer, Mr. Pardee, requested that Jo visit him in his office. Seeing the sketchbook in Jo’s pocket, Pardee asked to examine it, then requested permission to show two drawing to the head of the art school. On seeing the sketches, Professor Neimeyer invited him to come and work in the Art School — tuition free — saying, “We are glad to have young men of talent.” So Jo began drawing a live model with other Art School students. Eventually he sketched the model from so many angles that he tired and lost interest. Taking a break, he roved through the building. He found a basement room full of plaster casts and modeling stands, and he walked in.
Jo finds CLAY and “touches the rest of his life … ”
“I found the clay bin, put my hand in it, and touched the rest of my life. The cool wet stuff gave me a thrill that I had never before experienced.”
He began building clay on a stand, copying a mask of Saint Francis nearby. He lost track of time, then was startled when he realized the modeling instructor, Mr. Boardman, was standing behind him. The instructor asked how long Jo had studied modeling. Jo said this was the first time he had touched clay.
“He did not seem to believe me, which gave me the feeling it was not too bad. We talked for a long time and the result was that I decided to chuck medicine and take up sculpture.” Jo asked who taught sculpture and was given the name of Hermon A. MacNeil. Between Sittings, p. 8-10.
Hermon MacNeil ~ enters Jo’s life …
JO finds Hermon MacNeil and his College Point Studio.
“By 1903, with his flirtation with a medical career ended, Jo was back in New York working as an assistant in sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil’s studio.” RosenKranz, p. 11.
Jo FUNNY STORY concludes: “Henri Crenier took a special delight in teasing me. I liked him and took it good-naturedly. But one day I lost my temper and we came to blows. I knocked him down and relieved my feelings by giving him a healthy pummeling. I was so busy that I did not hear MacNeil come into the studio. Suddenly I heard him say: “Jo, when you get through, will you mix me a little plaster.”
Hermon MacNeil outside his Studio about 1945. [Courtesy of Kenilworth Historical Society & Joel Rosenkranz. Photo by: Violet Wyld
Jo Davidson (about 1922)
NOTE THIS WELL:
HERMON’S INTERVENTION: MacNeil did notscold. He did not raise his voice. He did not even tell Jo to stop, for he probably saw the teasing and taunting that the young 18-year-old had taken from the other Assistants, Henri and John. In essence he said,
“When you feel you are sufficiently through pummeling Henri Crenier, (my master assistant), would you mix me a little plaster.” Jo must have found Hermon to be quiet a contrast to his Father whose“signs of affection were rarely given luxuries” Fifty years later Jo tells the above story in his biography, then concludes with: “The summer passed quickly. Those were rich and full days. I was sure of my vocation. I was going to be a sculptor.”l
“Rich and full, the “sculptor to be” went on searching the world for another decade to develop his own style and skills as a sculptor. Then in the next 40 years, Jo Davidson shaped portrait busts of over a hundred world famous people. BUT the kindness of Hermon MacNeil seemed to be a pleasant memory.
MORE “HERMON & JO” STORIES TO COME … on Feb 8th
#2 The Wanderer & The Monument Maker
~~~~
NOTES:
Jo Davidson, Between Sittings: an informal autobiography of Jo Davidson. Dial Press: New York, 1951. PP. 3.
Connor, Janis and Joel Rosenkranz, photographs by David Finn, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893 – 1939, University of Texas Press, Austin TX 1989.
SOURCES:
Jo Davidson, Between Sittings: an informal autobiography of Jo Davidson. Dial Press: New York, 1951. PP. 3-16.
TIME, “Political Notes: Glamor Pusses.” VOL. XLVIII, No. 11, September 9, 1946. pp
Connor, Janis and Joel Rosenkranz, photographs by David Finn, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893 – 1939, University of Texas Press, Austin TX 1989.
Jo Davidson, (1883-1952). Jewish Virtual Library: a project of AICE. Source: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jo-davidson. recovered on Jan 11, 2021.
Why do we celebrate MacNeil Month each February? Two reasons:
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Hermon MacNeil.
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative sketched by Artist Charles D. Daughtrey as the seventh work in his Series of Coin Designers is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
Hermon Atkins MacNeil about the time of his Standing Liberty works.
February 27 is the 154th anniversary of the birth of Hermon A. MacNeil, born in 1866. Hermon is the patron-sculptor whose work and life are celebrated at this website – HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Tom Henry McNeil, My grandfather ~ And the older cousin of Hermon MacNeil.
Thomas (Tom) Henry McNeil (b. 1860 – d. 1932)
February 29 is the Anniversary of the birth of Thomas (Tom) Henry McNeil (my grandfather) born in 1860, one-hundred and sixty years ago.
Tom told his daughters to address “Hermon” as “Uncle Hermon.” “Uncle” was the title of respect bestowed on their first-cousin-twice-removed.
“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/)
That’s the 2020 theme for the tenth year of MacNeil Month.
We observe each February as MacNeil Monthhere on HAM.
“They’re Still There!”celebrates several re-visits and discoveries of MacNeil works made in 2019. This years featured visits include:
“The Sun Vow” in New York City and Monmouth, New Jersey.
“William McKinley” statue in Columbus, Ohio.
Presidents Day – Lincoln and Washington
The Patten Gym at Northwestern University ~ “Intellectual Development” and “Emotional Development”
“The Soldiers and Sailors Monument” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Why do this in February? Two reasons:
February 27 is the anniversary of the birth of Hermon A. MacNeil, born in 1866, of one-hundred and fifty-four years ago. Hermon is the patron-sculptor whose work and life are celebrated at this website – HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com.
February 29 is the Anniversary of the birth of Thomas (Tom) Henry McNeil (my grandfather) born in 1860, one-hundred and sixty years ago. Tom told his daughters to address “Hermon” as “Uncle Hermon.” “Uncle” was the title of respect bestowed on their first-cousin-twice-removed.
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative sketched by Artist Charles D. Daughtrey as the seventh work in his Series of Coin Designers is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
AND THE 10th Year of my Search for “Uncle Hermon” for whom this website is dedicated.
This website also is inspired by the memory of my mother, Ollie McNeil Leininger.
I remember my mother telling me about her “Uncle Hermon.”
She handed me some “Liberty Standing Quarters” from her grocery change and showed me the little “M” at the left foot of Lady Liberty.
She showed me “The Sun Vow” statue in the Saint Louis Art Museum. We also visited “The Pony Express” statue in St. Joseph, Missouri. I grew up with a sense of pride and quiet fascination with mom’s “Uncle Hermon”
I never met “Uncle Hermon”
Hermon A. MacNeil died on October 2, 1947 at the age of 81 years, 7 months, and 8 days. On the day that he died I was just two years-old.
To read the whole article, Click and open in a separate window
My own Mother died years later in the winter of 1985. At that time, I wrote:
With her passing a warm, safe feeling faded from my world. I was the “baby” of her six children. Her death ushered in feelings of being a midlife orphan who would soon turn forty. Darkness seemed to creep in from the far corners of my life. A strange fearful child inside of me said, “Who will take care of me now?”
As the years passed, I would think of mom, and occasionally, of her “Uncle Hermon.”
By the turn of the 2K millennium, computers and the internet had become household items. This allowed people to hunt, find, and save data. I found fascinating stories about Hermon Atkins MacNeil. Virtually anything from anywhere could be researched.
In 2010, I met Dan DeBlock. He is a retired Army Chaplain and Lutheran Minister who builds websites for churches. It started as a hobby interest and became Leiturgia Communications, Inc. The Host and Tech Support for this website.
One day I asked Dan DeBlock, “Could a website be built as virtual gallery of the sculpture of Hermon Atkins MacNeil?”
Nine years and 170 stories later, “HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com” is the answer to my question and Dan’s hosting.
In that year (2010), I seriously began my “Searching for Uncle Hermon.”
That journey continues. This is story # 171 – A Birthday Present for Hermon Atkins MacNeil.
This Gallery celebrates Hermon Atkins MacNeil, American sculptor of the Beaux Arts School.
This Feb 27th of 2018 marks the 152 Anniversary of the birth of HERMON ATKINS MacNEIL. We celebrate with a little MacNeil history.
American sculptor of hundreds of pieces and monuments all over this country, 1st President of the Clan MacNeil Association of America,
Eight years ago this website started gathering the many images and stories associated with his life and work. The Clan name traces back to to the Island of Barra in the Western Hebrides of Scotland.
The Kisimul Castle in Castle Bay was restored by the MacNeil of Barra XLV –Robert Lister MacNeil. The story of the Clan and the Castle are told in his book, Castle in the Sea: The Macneil of Barra XLV, published in 1964. His son Ian Roderick Macneil, Chief, Clan Macneil, published a revised 2nd edition 1975.
The Kisimul Castle is featured in cameo on this postcard “The Macneil” by Raphael Tuck and Sons. (Publishers to their Majesties the King and Queen) as part of their series “SCOTTISH CLANS.” Series VI; Postcard 9481.
The reverse of this never used postcard contains a Clan history of the two branches of the MacNeils:
No Date is found on the Postcard
MacNeil Chief greets visitors arriving to the Kisimul Castle for the 2014 Gathering of the MacNeil Clan.
The 2014 Gathering of the Clan was celebrated at the Castle and across Barra. I had the priviledge to attend the festivities and to tour Scotland for three weeks with Donna, my wife. It was a memorable trip of a lifetime and an inauguration of our retirement years.
Webmaster, Daniel Neil Leininger in kilt at Kisimul Castle in the summer of 2014.
February 27th 2017 marks the 151st Anniversary of the birth of Hermon Atkins MacNeil.
February 29th marks the 157th Anniversary of Tom Henry McNeil (Thomas H. McNeil). Because he was born on Leap Day his birthday came only once every four years (Leap Year).
So we remember the McNeil/MacNeil cousins Tom Henry and Hermon. And we celebrate each February as “MacNeil Month” here at HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com.
Thomas (Tom) Henry McNeil (b. 1860 – d. 1932)
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (b. 1866 – d. 1947)
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947) and Thomas Henry McNeil (1860-1932) were cousins. They shared a common grandfather, Peter McNeil (1786-1847). Hermon is the sculptor celebrated on this website.Thomas (Tom Henry) was my grandfather. My mother, Ollie Francis McNeil, always referred to Hermon as “Uncle Hermon”. Their parents wanted her (and her sisters and brother) to do that out of respect.
Tom Henry was born near Burdette, Missouri, in Bates County. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1884 (Literature) and 1885 (Law).
1884 Michigan Wolverines Football Team. Tom Henry McNeil, seated in the front in the black shirt, was the team captain. By Unknown – 1884 Michigan football team photograph http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1884fbt.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12425688
He played football there as the first starting quarterback in consecutive seasons of 84 and 85. He practiced as a lawyer for Kansas City Railways Company, and in later years, he was responsible for making accident reports to the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Public Service Commission of Missouri. He died in 1932.
1885 Michigan Wolverines Football Team — Quarterback Tom Henry MacNeil is seated second from the left holding a ball. A rugby style ball was used, but no forward passes were allowed
Hermon was born in Everett (Chelsea, Malden) Mass. In 1886 he graduated from Normal Art School in Boston (now Mass Art). He moved to Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. As Instructor
until 1889, leaving to study in Paris as a pupil of Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière. He sculpted in Chicago from 1891-1895, at the Columbian World Exposition (1893 Chicago World’s Fair) meeting Carol Brooks (also a sculptor). They married on Christmas Day 1895 and sailed days later for Rome (1895-99). Following another year in Paris (1899-1900), they settled in New York City building a home and studio in College Point, Long Island. He worked and lived there until his death in 1947.
Roderick Wilson MacNeil of Barra, 47th Chief, stands at Kisimul Castle. (August 2014 dnl)
Webmaster, Daniel Neil Leininger in kilt at Kisimul Castle in the summer of 2014.
Kisimul Castle was the 14th Century home of the MacNeil Chiefs.
In 2014, the current Chief, Roderick Wilson MacNeil, received the Clan members at a Reunion of the MacNeil Clan on Barra. Here he stands outside the boat landing to the Castle.
In the courtyard of Kisimul Castle two young Lasses were playing bagpipes to welcome the visitors.
The castle home of the MacNeil Chieftains has been restored and contains many of the ancient objects of the clan.
“Vincere Vel Mori” Conquer or Die ~ The MacNeil motto over the crest and coat of arms.
The MacNeil Crest graces the wall of the Great Room above the fireplace.
Weapons hang from the far wall ascending the stairway.
The MacNeil Gathering inside Kisimul Castle August 2014. MacNeil’s from Scotland, Barra, Canada, and the USA stand together
According to the MacNeil Clan Association website:
“In 1937 Kisimul castle and most of the Island of Barra were brought back into the family when Robert L(ister) MacNeill, a descendant of the 22nd chief, returned from the United States, purchased most of Barra and spent his life restoring Kisimul Castle. His son, the 46th chief, (was) a law Professor and divid(ed) his time between Scotland and the United States.” (Source: http://www.clanmacneilusa.us/?page_id=61 )
The castle has since been placed under the protectorship of Historic Environment Scotland. This allows for the perpetual preservation of this site as a Scottish national treasure.
It opens it also to attract thousands of visitors annually to experience the serene beauty of the Isle of Barra ~ the westernmost habitation of the Outer Hebrides.
The beautiful Isle of Barra was (as the local Scots say ) truly a “Barradise” of MacNeil sights and Scottish Heritage. The natural undisturbed beauty makes it a restful where the wash of the waves wash sing you to sleep at night, and the sea gulls gently wake you in the morning.
The year 2016 marks the sesquicentennial of the birth of Hermon Atkins MacNeil on February 27, 1886.
Hermon Atkins MacNeil about the time of his Standing Liberty works.
While we celebrate each February as “MacNeil Month,” this year is extra special as the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Several events during 2016 will acknowledge that here on HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com:
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The newly commissioned 2016 MacNeil Medallion will be available for sale on eBay. CLICK HERE
Postings will continue to celebrate the life and art of Hermon A. MacNeil.
Kisimul Castle the home of the MacNeil Chieftans from the 14th century, will be featured.
The origins of the MacNeil Clan on the Isle of Barra in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides will be visited with photos and history .
The webmaster’s ongoing travels and activity will be presented as his “Search for Uncle Hermon” continues as a odyssey of retirement.
Antique “MacNeil Postcards” of some of his sculptures across the U. S. will be presented as features.
MacNeil’s years in Paris will be revisited with photos of the newly restored Ecole de Beaux Arts where he studied and taught.
MacNeil’s teachers in Paris will be featured with photos of their sculptures in the Musee d’Orsay in the center of Paris. This museum was built as the railroad station for the Universal Exposition of 1900 in which MacNeil and his contemporary sculptors exhibited and received prizes.
Our recent Travels to Scotland will be featured with photos and stories.
Our travels to France this year will be shared.
ALL in ALL, 2016 begins as a banner year for this website. SO stay tuned.
This February 27th, 2016 marks another anniversary of the birth of Hermon Atkins MacNeil our patron sculptor.
2016 actually celebrates the:
150th
Anniversary
of the birth of
HERMON ATKINS Mac NEIL
In honor of this Anniversary, we have commissioned a MacNeil Medallion commemorating his birth and the Centennial of the first minting of the Liberty Standing Quarter.
This beautiful bronze medal features the image of MacNeil at about age 60. It is plated in nickel and measures 3 inches (77 mm) in diameter.
Hermon Atkins MacNeil about the time of his Standing Liberty works.
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative sketched by Artist Charles D. Daughtrey as the seventh work in his Series of Coin Designers is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
Here at the HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com website we celebrate every February as
“MacNeil Month”
in honor of the birth of
Hermon Atkins MacNeil
February 27th, 1866.
This is the first of several postings that will celebrate this theme. Hermon’s older cousin, Tom Henry MacNeil (my grandfather), was born on February 29th, 1860. So February is MacNeil Month in several ways.
Here is a recent video of the Sun Vow to start off our month of celebration:
H.A.MacNeil ~1895 sketch – The Sun (New York City)
Today, February 27, 2014 marks the 148th anniversary of the birth of Hermon Atkins MacNeil, born this very day in 1866. So each February, we celebrate “MacNeil Month” in his honor.
In 2010, I formally began searching for “Uncle Hermon” in several ways. First, I built this “digital gallery” of his life and work as a sculptor. HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com is a website dedicated to making his sculpture and career available to the world.
In this virtual gallery you will find over 600 photos and 130 stories of Hermon MacNeil’s life and work. 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 can be studied here.
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative by Artist C. Daughtrey is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
These sculptures, statues, monuments are scattered from Washington, DC to Portland, Oregon, and from New York City to Gallup, New Mexico. A web search of the name “Hermon MacNeil” can bring you here.
HOW DID YOU FIND the Hermon MacNeil website?
Please add comment below. Tell us what brings you here.
Secondly, this year I joined 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. I have shared MacNeil stories at the annual family reunion of my siblings and our children and grand children. In August 2013 I attended the Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Fest in Estes Park. What a great celebration of Celtic pride.
Keep watching as I continue the search and research on Hermon Atkins MacNeil.
We celebrate “MacNeil Month” each February. This February 27, 2014 marks the 148th anniversary of the birth of our patron sculptor, Hermon Atkins MacNeil. During MacNeil Month 2014 here at HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com , we will share some biography of Hermon A. MacNeil gleaned from my “search for ‘Uncle Hermon’.”
Hermon Atkins MacNeil ~American Sculptor
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 of America was formed ninety-three years ago.
MacNeil kinsman.
Kisimul Castle, built on an island in Castlebay, Barra is the seat of the current clan chief, Rory MacNeil, and was restored from a ruinous state by his US born grandfather in the early 20th century. Archaeological evidence has revealed that there has been human occupation on the island since at least the Bronze Age. The present castle dates from the 14th century. ( Credit: http://www.greatscottishclans.com/clans/images/clan_macneil_castle.gif )
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.
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.
George Rogers Clark determination and military genius persuaded Patrick Henry, the Governor of Virginia (colony) to use Virginia militia and volunteers to capture British forts along the Mississippi River.
George Rogers Clark is in Vincennes, Indiana. Hermon MacNeil’s sculpture of this American Revolutionary hero stands 7 1/2 feet tall.
For over 75 years, this larger-than-life bronze celebrates the ‘Conquest of the West.’ Inside the refurbished rotunda, the proud patriot stands braced on his drawn sword with a face filled with accomplishment. Commissioned by Patrick Henry in the Virginia Militia, George Rogers Clark, a brilliant young military strategist, conceived and accomplished a near impossible mission that won the West to the Mississippi River for the 13 United States in 1779.
(For more on the story of Fort Sackville and Clark’s dedicated militia men SEE below: )
In May 2012 Donna and I travelled across Illinois on the George Rogers Clark Memorial Highway (U.S. 50), leading to the National Monument in Vincennes. These are a few of our images of this amazing monument to this “unsung hero of the American Revolution.”
Daniel P. Murphy, Ph.D., in a piece entitled, “George Rogers Clark and the West” tells the story this way: (http://www.netplaces.com/american-revolution/the-war-on-the-frontier/george-rogers-clark-and-the-west.htm)
Clark responded to the loss of Vincennes with his usual vigor. He gathered a force of 172 men, half of them French volunteers. On February 6, 1779, Clark started his men on their 180-mile march. At first the journey was a pleasant hike. The men were able to hunt fresh game to eat, and spirits were high.
On February 13, Clark’s little army was only twenty miles from Vincennes when they began to feel the full force of the floods. It took two days to get across the Little Wabash River. Game animals disappeared and the men went hungry. They were now slogging through water that was sometimes up to their shoulders. Every mile forward came at the price of almost unbearable exertion. Only Clark’s indomitable will kept his men going. He placed a party in the rear with orders to shoot any man who would not press on. Men who physically collapsed were dragged along in canoes.
Clark finally reached the vicinity of Vincennes on February 23. While his men tried to dry their clothes and ate broth made from some buffalo meat seized from an Indian woman, Clark sent word to the people of Vincennes that he was going to take the town that night. Clark intended to rely on bluff. His men were out of ammunition, and he learned that Hamilton had just been reinforced by 200 Indians. True to his word, Clark marched on the town, ordering parties of his men to parade up and down to create the illusion that he had a larger force than he actually did. The townspeople replenished Clark’s ammunition, and Hamilton’s Indians deserted him.
Clark immediately besieged the fort, pushing to within thirty feet of the wall. Clark’s riflemen picked off Hamilton’s gunners when they tried to fire artillery from the walls. Clark called for unconditional surrender and threatened to storm the place otherwise. To illustrate the consequences, he had five Indians who had been captured with American scalps tied to their belts tomahawked within view of the fort. Hamilton surrendered with seventynine men. Another forty bringing in supplies were captured soon after.
George Rogers Clark had achieved much with very little. He had rolled back British power in the region and helped his countrymen establish a solid foothold in the Ohio River Valley. Clark held the Illinois Country for the rest of the war, although he was never able to fulfill his ambition to attack Detroit. Men and supplies were always in too short supply. The British continued to sponsor Indian attacks that terrorized American settlements in the Ohio Valley. SOURCE:Daniel P. Murphy, Ph.D., in a piece entitled, “George Rogers Clark and the West” ; ( http://www.netplaces.com/american-revolution/the-war-on-the-frontier/george-rogers-clark-and-the-west.htm )
Signature of H. A. MacNeil, Sc. graces the rear of the base of this piece.
Here is ONE place to go to see sculpture of Hermon A. MacNeil & his students. Located in cities from east to west coast, found indoors and out, public and private, these creations point us toward the history and values that root Americans.
Daniel Neil Leininger ~ HAMacNeil@gmail.com
Hosting & Tech Support: Leiturgia Communications, Inc. WATCH US GROW
WE DESIRE YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOS – Suggestions
1. Take digital photos of the work from all angles, including setting.
2. Take close up photos of details that you like
3. Look for MacNeil’s signature. Photograph it too! See examples above.
4. Please, include a photo of you & others beside the work.
5. Tell your story of adventure. It adds personal interest.
6. Send photos to ~ Webmaster at: HAMacNeil@gmail.com
A bronze figure represents the country. She holds palms of victory and peace, and a sheathed sword of war. Etched in marble behind her are soldiers and sailors marching to her defense. On the other side is a Civil War battery in action. One end shows a wounded drummer boy; the other a soldier returning to his wife and child. There are about 60 life size figures cut into the monument.
SOURCES: 
