Lot Essay
One of MacMonnies' most critically acclaimed and controversial models, Bacchante and Infant Faun, was conceived in 1893 as a life-size bronze to be placed in the courtyard of Charles McKim's recently completed Boston Public Library building. Rejected by conservative Bostonians for its "drunken abandon" and "wanton nudity", the statue was presented by the architect to the Metropolitan Museum in 1897. Reductions in various sizes were cast by both French and American foundries.