Hermon Atkins MacNeil

Last updated

Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil.jpg
MacNeil, c.1907
Born(1866-02-27)February 27, 1866
DiedOctober 2, 1947(1947-10-02) (aged 81)
Queens, New York City, U.S.
Resting place Woodlawn Cemetery
Everett, Massachusetts [1]
Nationality American
Known for Sculpture
Notable work Standing Liberty Quarter
Justice, the Guardian of Liberty

Hermon Atkins MacNeil (February 27, 1866 October 2, 1947) was an American sculptor born in Everett, Massachusetts. He is known for designing the Standing Liberty quarter, struck by the Mint from 1916 to 1930; and for sculpting Justice, the Guardian of Liberty on the east pediment of the United States Supreme Court building.

Contents

Career

The Standing Liberty Quarter (1916), has the initial of designer Hermon Atkins MacNeil on its obverse, above and to the right of the date. Standing Liberty Quarter.jpg
The Standing Liberty Quarter (1916), has the initial of designer Hermon Atkins MacNeil on its obverse, above and to the right of the date.

MacNeil graduated from Massachusetts Normal Art School, now Massachusetts College of Art and Design, in 1886, [2] became an instructor in industrial art at Cornell University from 1886 to 1889, and was then a pupil of Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière in Paris. Returning to America, he aided Philip Martiny (1858–1927) in the preparation of sketch models for the World's Columbian Exposition, and in 1896 he won the Rinehart scholarship, passing four years (1896–1900) in Rome. [3]

In 1906 he became a National Academician. His first important work was The Moqui Runner, which was followed by A Primitive Chant, and The Sun Vow , all figures of the North American Indian. [3] Several of his earlier American Indian sculptures served as the inspiration for his later contribution to the long running Society of Medalists, Hopi Prayer for Rain. Fountain of Liberty, for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and other Indian themes came later; his Agnese and his Beatrice, which are two fine busts of women, and his nude statuettes, which echo his time spent in Rome and Paris, [4] also deserve mention. One of his principal works is the William McKinley Monument sculpture in Columbus, Ohio, in honor of President William McKinley. In 1909 he won in competition a commission for a large soldiers' and sailors' monument in Albany, New York. [3]

Perhaps his best known work is as the designer of the Standing Liberty quarter, which was minted from 1916 to 1930, and carries his initial to the right of the date. He also made Justice, the Guardian of Liberty on the east pediment of the United States Supreme Court building.

MacNeil was one of a dozen sculptors invited to compete in the Pioneer Woman statue competition in 1927, [5] which he failed to win. His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1932 Summer Olympics. [6]

One of his last works was the Pony Express statue dedicated in 1940 in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Family

His wife, Carol Brooks MacNeil, also a sculptor of distinction, was a pupil of Frederick William MacMonnies [3] and a member of the White Rabbits.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Chester French</span> American sculptor (1850–1931)

Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include the The Minute Man, an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Davidson</span> American sculptor (1883–1952)

Jo Davidson was an American sculptor. Although he specialized in realistic, intense portrait busts, Davidson did not require his subjects to formally pose for him; rather, he observed and spoke with them. He worked primarily with clay, while the final products were typically cast in terra-cotta or bronze, or carved from marble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolph Alexander Weinman</span> American sculptor and architectural sculptor (1870–1952)

Adolph Alexander Weinman was a German-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Bitter</span> American sculptor (1867-1915)

Karl Theodore Francis Bitter was an Austrian-born American sculptor best known for his architectural sculpture, memorials and residential work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Stirling Calder</span> American artist (1870–1945)

Alexander Stirling Calder was an American sculptor and teacher. He was the son of sculptor Alexander Milne Calder and the father of sculptor Alexander (Sandy) Calder. His best-known works are George Washington as President on the Washington Square Arch in New York City, the Swann Memorial Fountain in Philadelphia, and the Leif Eriksson Memorial in Reykjavík, Iceland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Earle Fraser (sculptor)</span> American sculptor (1876-1953)

James Earle Fraser was an American sculptor during the first half of the 20th century. His work is integral to many of Washington, D.C.'s most iconic structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn Beatrice Longman</span> American sculptor (1874–1954)

Evelyn Beatrice Longman was an American sculptor whose allegorical figure works were commissioned as monuments and memorials, adornment for public buildings, and attractions at art expositions in the early 20th-century. She became the first woman sculptor to be elected a full member of the National Academy of Design in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Quincy Adams Ward</span> American sculptor (1830–1910)

John Quincy Adams Ward was an American sculptor, whose most familiar work is his larger than life-size standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall National Memorial in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Henry Niehaus</span> American sculptor

Charles Henry Niehaus was an American sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward McCartan</span> American sculptor (1879–1947)

Edward Francis McCartan was an American sculptor, best known for his decorative bronzes done in an elegant style popular in the 1920s.

The Piccirilli brothers were an Italian family of renowned marble carvers and sculptors who carved many of the most significant marble sculptures in the United States, including Daniel Chester French’s colossal Abraham Lincoln (1920) in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Ingersoll Aitken</span> American sculptor (1878–1949)

Robert Ingersoll Aitken was an American sculptor. Perhaps his most famous work is the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walker Hancock</span> American sculptor (1901–1998)

Walker Kirtland Hancock was an American sculptor and teacher. He created notable monumental sculptures, including the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial (1950–52) at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and the World War I Soldiers' Memorial (1936–38) in St. Louis, Missouri. He made major additions to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., including Christ in Majesty (1972), the bas relief over the High Altar. Works by him are presently housed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the United States Capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Brooks MacNeil</span> American sculptor (1871–1944)

Carol Brooks MacNeil was an American sculptor, born in Chicago where she studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under Lorado Taft. MacNeil modeled many charming and unique designs for vases, teapots, inkstands, and other decorative and useful objects, as well as children's busts, including those of her two sons, and statuettes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henri Crenier</span> American sculptor (1873–1948)

Henri Crenier (1873–1948) was an American sculptor born in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Webster Memorial</span> Memorial in Washington, D.C., U.S.

The Daniel Webster Memorial is a monument in Washington, D.C., honoring U.S. statesman and lawyer Daniel Webster. It is located near Webster's former house, beside Scott Circle, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, N Street, and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The person who commissioned the memorial was Stilson Hutchins, founder of The Washington Post, who greatly admired Webster. Congress approved the memorial in 1898 and the dedication ceremony took place in January 1900. Amongst the attendees at the ceremony were President William McKinley and his cabinet, members of Congress, and Supreme Court justices.

<i>Coming of the White Man</i> Sculpture in Portland, Oregon

Coming of the White Man is a bronze sculpture by American artist Hermon Atkins MacNeil, installed in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon in the United States. The statue was gifted to the City of Portland in 1904 by former mayor David P. Thompson and installed the following year. It depicts two Native American men, including Chief Multnomah, looking towards the Columbia River upon the arrival of Lewis and Clark.

<i>Thomas Burke Monument</i> Monument in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

The Thomas Burke Monument, also known as Judge Thomas Burke, is a 1929 outdoor sculpture commemorating Thomas Burke by Hermon Atkins MacNeil, located in Volunteer Park, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Washington. The monument, which is made of granite, marble, and bronze, was dedicated in 1930. It is part of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

<i>William McKinley Monument</i> Sculpture in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.

The William McKinley Monument, or McKinley Memorial, is a statue and memorial honoring the assassinated United States President William McKinley which stands on Capitol Square to the west of main entrance of the Ohio Statehouse in Downtown Columbus, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Ezra Cornell</span> Statue at Cornell University

Ezra Cornell is a monumental statue on the Arts Quad on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The monument honors Ezra Cornell, the university's co-founder and namesake. The statue, designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil, was dedicated in June 1919.

References

  1. "Hermon MacNeil". National Park Service. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  2. Student Academic Records, Archives of Massachusetts College of Art and Design
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chisholm 1911.
  4. "Hermon Atkins MacNeil". Fine Art May 2007. Rago Arts and Auction Center. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011.
  5. "Exhibition of Models for a Monument to the Pioneer Woman" at the Chicago Architectural Exhibition, East Galleries, Art Institute of Chicago, June 25 to August 1, 1927
  6. "Hermon Atkins MacNeil". Olympedia. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  7. Leininger, Dan (May 19, 2010). "MacNeil's Sculpture of Ezra Cornell". Hermon A. MacNeil: American Sculptor. Retrieved June 1, 2018.