About this artwork
Sculptor Frederick MacMonnies portrayed Nathan Hale, an American soldier and spy captured during the Revolutionary War, in the moments before he was killed by the British in 1776. MacMonnies rendered the bronze figure with naturalistic details: his waved locks of hair, parted overcoat and rumpled 18th-century dress, and ropes tied around his upper arms and ankles. Hale’s deliberate gaze and the open gesture of his hands convey a strong emotive quality attuned to the finality of the imminent punishment. This is a reduced version of the large-scale sculpture Nathan Hale installed in City Hall Park in New York, one of MacMonnies’s first public commissions.
-
Status
- Currently Off View
-
Department
- Arts of the Americas
-
Artists
- Frederick William MacMonnies (Sculptor) , E. Gruet Jeune Foundry (Foundry)
-
Title
- Nathan Hale
-
Places
- United States (Artist's nationality:), Paris (Object made in)
-
Dates
- Modeled 1890 , Cast 1890-1937
-
Medium
- Bronze
-
Inscriptions
- Inscribed on right side of base: "F. MacMonnies 1890"/stamped, left rear: "E. Gruet Jeune, Paris"
-
Dimensions
- H.: 72.4 cm (28 1/2 in.)
-
Credit Line
- Gift of Robert Allerton
-
Reference Number
- 1923.1840
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.
