Hermon Atkins MacNeil (American, 1866–1947)
The Vow of Vengeance
INV-1582
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (American, 1866–1947)1894
The Vow of Vengeance
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (American, 1866–1947) →sculptureamerican arts
Date
1894
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
42.6 × 18.7 × 21.6 cm (16 3/4 × 7 3/8 × 8 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Wesley M. Dixon Jr.
Hermon Atkins MacNeil modeled The Vow of Vengeance in Chicago in 1894, a year after he had worked on sculptural decorations for the World’s Columbian Exposition. He grew interested in Native American culture at the fair, where he encountered ethnographic displays and performers from Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. His first freestanding Indian sculpture, The Vow of Vengeance depicts an elder chieftain guiding a young brave as he shoots an arrow skyward. The individualistic modeling of the man suggests study from life, while the youth’s graceful pose adheres more closely to neoclassical idealism. The sculpture later served as inspiration for The Sun Vow, MacNeil’s large-scale bronze (1926.1503).
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