Signed Frederick W. MacMonnies, 'Bacchante & Infant Faun'. Large Bronze Sculpture, 1894
Signed Frederick William MacMonnies (American 1863 - 1937). 'Bacchante & Infant Faun'. A large antique bronze, incised signature F. MacMonnies, and dated 1894 to base. Also having an incised H. Rouard Fondeur mark to base.

Originally commissioned by Charles Follen McKim, the original bronze bacchante and infant faun, measured 84-inches high. McKim was a partner in the architectural firm mckim, mead & white, who designed the boston public library's central library in copley square. He donated his cast for display in the library's courtyard, but bostonians were shocked at the sight of a dancing, frolicking, drunken nude, and the work was soon removed. Nearly a century later another cast was placed in the courtyard as originally intended. Smaller 33 1/2" casts and smaller 16-inch casts were subsequently made by french and american foundries and were sold by durand-ruel in paris and new york, and by theodore b. starr and tiffany & company in new york.

A sculptor of classical figures, american-born Frederick MacMonnies achieved fame both in the united states as well as europe from the late 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century. In 1880 he began an apprenticeship under Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and was soon promoted to studio assistant, beginning his lifelong friendship with the acclaimed sculptor. He also studied at night at the national academy of design and the art students league of new york. In Saint-Gaudens' studio, he met Stanford White who was turning to him for the prominent sculptures required for his architectural projects. At the recommendation of Saint-Gaudens, he successfully entered the Nathan Hale sculpture competition for city hall park in new york city and had work exhibited at the 1893 world's fair exposition in chicago. His work titled 'The Barge of State', a thirty-eight figure extravaganza, made him nationally famous.

In 1884 MacMonnies traveled to paris to study sculpture at the ecole des beaux-arts, twice winning the highest award given to foreign students. In 1888 he opened a studio in paris and began to create some of his most famous sculptures, which he submitted annually to the paris salon. At the paris salon, he was awarded the first gold medal ever given to an american sculptor. Elected to the rank of chevalier in the french legion d'honneur in 1896, he was awarded grand prize at the paris exposition of 1900. This was a decade of enormous productivity and personal satisfaction. A second career as a painter got a good public start in 1901, when he received an honorable mention at the paris salon for the first painting he entered. He remained in france until 1915, when he returned to the u.s. A larger version of this bronze was sold at Sothebys' for $162,000 and a smaller casting realized $18,000 at Rago Arts Auction in 2007.
33 1/2" high x 10" diameter at base..

Very good. One small area of abrasion to raised knee. Some verdigris to surface.