Last updated: October 26, 2023
Person
Hermon MacNeil
Quick Facts
Significance:
Sculptor of the George Rogers Clark statue
Place of Birth:
Everett, Massachusetts, USA
Date of Birth:
February 27, 1866
Place of Death:
Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Date of Death:
October 2, 1947
Place of Burial:
Everett, Massachusetts, USA
Cemetery Name:
Woodlawn Cemetery
"...It is a source of gratification that the Memorial will include such a striking and handsome portrayal of George Rogers Clark."
-Chairman of the George Rogers Clark Commission
It offers a wonderful first impression of the entrance of the memorial.
Hermon MacNeil Was born and raised in Everett Massachusetts. He graduated in 1886 from the Massachusetts Normal Art School (now known as the Massachusetts College of Art and Design) and was an instructor at Cornell University between 1886 and 1889. He later studied in Paris under Henri Chapu and Alexandre Falguière. After returning to the US, he worked with Philip Martiny preparing sketch models for the Chicago Worlds Fair. In 1896 He won the Rinehart scolarship shich allowed him to study in Rome between 1896 and 1900.
His most notable work is the design for the standing liberty quarter, minted from 1916 to 1930 featuring the goddess of liberty on the face and a flying eagle on the reverse.
Other noted works include "The Moqui Runner" (1897), "The Sun Vow" (1899), "A Primitive Chant tot he Great Spirit" (1901), and "Coming of the White Man" (1904) all figures of Native Americans. He won a competition in 1909 to sculpt a large sailors and soldiers monument in Albany New York and later sculpted the William McKinley Monument sculpture in cooperation with his wife Carol Brooks MacNeil who was also a noted sculptor.
His later works include "Washington as Commander-in-Chief, Accompanied by Fame and Valor" (1914–1916) at the Washington Square Arch in Washington Square Park, New York City, New York, "Intellectual Development" (1916) at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, "Ezra Cornell" (1919) on the Campus of Cornell University, the Civil War Sailors' Monument (1921) along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "Justice, the Guardian of Liberty" (1935) on the East Pediment of the US Supreme Court building in Washington DC, and the Pony Express Monument (1940) at the Civic Center Triangle in St. Joseph, Missouri.
He also sculpted medals known as "Hopi Prayer for Rain" for the Society of Medalists and "Fountain of Liberty" for the Louisiana Purchase Expedition and two busts known as "Agnese" and "Beatrice." He died at the age of 81.