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The Vow of Vengeance

A work made of bronze.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of bronze.

Date:

1894

Artist:

Hermon Atkins MacNeil
American, 1866–1947

About this artwork

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).

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Hermon Atkins MacNeil

Title

The Vow of Vengeance

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1894

Medium

Bronze

Inscriptions

Vow of Vengeance/HA MacNeil/94

Dimensions

42.6 × 18.7 × 21.6 cm (16 3/4 × 7 3/8 × 8 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Wesley M. Dixon Jr.

Reference Number

2001.435

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/158244/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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