Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937)

'Pan of Rohallion'

Details

Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937)
'Pan of Rohallion'
inscribed 'Frédéric.MacMonnies/Copyright 1894 Paris 1890' and stamped twice indistinctly 'H. Rouard/Fondeur Paris' (along the sphere)-- inscribed 'TO.PAN.OF.ROHALLION.ANNO.DOMINI.M.D.C.C.C.L.X.L' (along the base)
bronze with brown patina
30 in. (76.2 cm.) high; on a green marble base, 43¼ in. (109.9 cm.) high (2)

Provenance

The artist until 1937.
Alice Jones MacMonnies, wife of the artist.
Willard Vine Clerk, Malden Bridge, New York, acquired from the above.
Christie's, New York, 21 April 1982, lot 148.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Literature

J. Conner and J. Rosenkranz, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works 1893-1939, Houston, Texas, 1989, p. 126.
E.A. Gordon, The Sculpture of Frederick William MacMonnies: A Critical Catalogue, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1998, p. 121.
G.P. Opitz, Dictionary of American Sculptors: 18th Century to the Present, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1894, p. 575, another example illustrated.
M. Smart and E.A. Gordon, A Flight with Fame: The Life and Art of Frederick MacMonnies, Madison, Connecticut, 1996, pp. 92, 288, another example illustrated.

Lot Essay

Pan of Rohallion, the first of a series of fountain figures sculpted by MacMonnies in the 1890s, was originally designed for the estate of Howard Adams in Seabright, New Jersey. One of the artist's most successful models, it was edited by both French and American foundries in several sizes: ten inches (see lot 79), fifteen inches and thirty inches high versions.

The present work is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Willard Vine Clerk, dated 4 January 1982, in which he states that this sculpture was installed in the MacMonnies' garden on West 10th Street, New York, until MacMonnies' death in 1937, after which it was kept by his widow until her death in 1962.

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