FREDERICK WILLIAM MacMONNIES (1863-1937)

Details

FREDERICK WILLIAM MacMONNIES (1863-1937)

'Boy and Heron', A Bronze Group

inscribed Fréderick MacMonniés Copyright 1894 Paris. 1890.
27in. (68.6cm.) high, rich greenish brown patina

Literature

A.T.E. Gardner, American Sculpture: A Catalogue of the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1965, pp. 82-83 (as 'Young Faun and Heron')
W. Craven, Sculpture in America, New York, 1968, p. 422
The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Quest for Unity: American Art Between World's Fairs 1876-1893, Detroit, Michigan, pp. 158-159, cat. no. 79, illus.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, The Arts of the American Renaissance, April 12-May 31, 1985, cat. no. 50

Lot Essay

Also known as Young Faun and Heron, the present model was originally conceived as a six-foot fountain figure for the gardens at Naumkeag, the Stockbridge, Massachusetts home of Ambassador Joseph A. Choate which was designed by Stanford White. The sculpture was completed in 1890 and was subsequently exhibited at the Paris salon. The piece was so well received that, in 1894, MacMonnies copyrighted the model and arranged for a Paris foundry to cast reductions. The following year, examples were included in the Antwerp salon and in an exhibition at the Boston Arts Club. They were awarded first prize at each.