Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

American, 1863-1937

A sculptor of classical figures, American-born Frederick MacMonnies had fame in the United States and Europe in the later half of the 19th century and early 20th century. He occasionally returned to America but lived most of his life as in expatriate in France. He was especially known for his lithe bronze figures, especially ones titled Diana. The classical names of these figures allowed him the appearance of propriety but gave him the opportunity to model svelte nudes. Frederick MacMonnies was one of the first American sculptors to recognize the potential market of the middle class. He copyrighted his works and then contracted with foundries to mass produce some of his figures such as Diana in smaller sizes. MacMonnies was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was a child prodigy at carving stone. At age 18, he worked in the studio of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and then persuaded him to become his assistant, keeping models damp and covered, running errands, and cleaning the studio. Evenings he studied at the Art Students League, Cooper Union, and the National Academy of Design. In Saint-Gaudens' studio, he met many of the wealthy people who shared Saint-Gaudens Beaux-Arts based ideas that art and architecture should be unified in order to create public art in America equal to that of classical antiquity or Renaissance Europe. Among the men that MacMonnies met through Saint-Gaudens who later furthered his career were architects Stanford White and Charles McKim and John LaFarge, decorator of mansions of the wealthy including the Vanderbilts. After four years of study and work in New York, MacMonnies left for Paris, opting for the more modernist techniques he could learn there over the more traditional sculpture teaching in Rome. One of his first teachers was Alexandre Falguiere, who had been an instructor of Saint-Gaudens and who injected a degree of contemporary realism into his classical figures. MacMonnies mingled with many upper class American expatriates and met his future wife, Mary Fairchild, a painter. MacMonnies came home briefly to help Saint-Gaudens with a project and then gained admittance in Paris to the Ecole des Beaux Arts, where he did numerous classical figures inspired by the style of small bronzes of Renaissance Florence, Italy. In 1889, he established his reputation with his sculpture of "Diana" at the Paris Salon. The execution of his nude sculpture was a challenge for a sculptor such as himself who strove for slim, well proportioned figures---the "aestheticizing of the nude". (Katz 12) In those days, most of the female models were poor peasants who were stocky with poor figures, distorted feet and often unbathed. However, MacMonnies found Marie Caira as the model for his Diana figures, and she, from a professional family of models, had the figure and social stature that met his criteria. Although he chose to live in Paris, many of his public and private sculpture commissions in future years, with the help of Saint-Gaudens and also architect, Stanford White, were in the United States.

Artist: Frederick William MacMonnies

Frederick William MacMonniesModel Study for Truth Sculpture at NY Public Library of Seated Man, c. 1910-14

$4,200Sale Price|20% Off

Model Study for Truth Sculpture at NY Public Library of Seated Man

By Frederick William MacMonnies

Located in Beachwood, OH

Frederick William MacMonnies (American, 1863-1937) Model Study for Truth, c. 1910-14 Painted plaster 16.5 x 9.25 x 7.5 inches For the 1920 sculpture for the New York Public Library ...

Category

1910s Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Plaster

Frederick William MacMonniesPatinated Bronze Statuette of William Shakespeare, Circa 1895

$124,500

Patinated Bronze Statuette of William Shakespeare

By Frederick William MacMonnies

Located in New Orleans, LA

Frederick William MacMonnies 1863–1937 American William Shakespeare Signed "F. MacMonnies" and foundry-marked "E. Gruet Jeune, Fondeur, Paris" Bronze Frederick William MacMonnies...

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19th Century Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Jean-Léon GérômeJean-Léon Gérôme La Danseuse au Cerceau - Gilt Bronze Statue of a Hoop Dancer, 19th Century

$5,500

H 9 in W 3.5 in D 5 in

Jean-Léon Gérôme La Danseuse au Cerceau - Gilt Bronze Statue of a Hoop Dancer

By Jean-Léon Gérôme

Located in New York, NY

Jean-Léon Gérôme French 1824 - 1904 La Joueuse De Cerceau - The Hoop Dancer A mini gilt bronze female figural statue of a young hoop dancer inspired by a trove of ancient terraco...

Category

19th Century Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Arthur WaagenAntique Bronze Dog "Whippet with a Butterfly" Arthur Waagen (1833-1898) 1 of 2, 1860's

$5,800

H 11 in W 8 in

Antique Bronze Dog "Whippet with a Butterfly" Arthur Waagen (1833-1898) 1 of 2

By Arthur Waagen

Located in SANTA FE, NM

Antique Bronze Dog Portrait “La Levrette au Papillon” or “Whippet (Greyhound) with a Butterfly” Arthur Waagen (Germany, France 1833-1898) Circa 1860’s 11 x 8 x 4 inches (1 of 2. ...

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1860s Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Fabulous Italian Neoclassical Marble Sculpture of Hermes, 1890

$6,775Sale Price|20% Off

H 33.47 in Dm 17.72 in

Fabulous Italian Neoclassical Marble Sculpture of Hermes

Located in Rome, IT

19th century French finely chiseled bronze figure of Hermes . Signed Pigalle G . Cuspinera Hermes , the messenger of the gods, is sitting on a rock, ready to leap up. He is att...

Category

19th Century Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Emmanuel Villanis“Diana”, Circa 1885

$2,400Sale Price|31% Off

H 16 in W 9 in D 6 in

“Diana”

By Emmanuel Villanis

Located in Southampton, NY

Beautiful golden brown patina bronze of Diana, the goddess of the moon by the French sculptor, Emmanuel Villanis. Signed on her shoulder. Impressed foundry stamp on base, “Society de...

Category

1880s Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pair of 19th century scagliola sculptures (Italian Neoclassicism) - Roman figure, c.1820

$5,807Sale Price|20% Off

H 46.46 in W 20.08 in D 10.24 in

Pair of 19th century scagliola sculptures (Italian Neoclassicism) - Roman figure

Located in Varmo, IT

Pair of scagliola sculptures - Roman figures. Italian manufacture, 19th century. 51 x 26 x h 118 cm (left) - 41 x 28 x h 118 cm (right). Made entirely of scagliola. Depicting two f...

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Early 19th Century Old Masters Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Plaster

Marius Jean Antonin Mercié“Enlevement des Sabines”, Circa 1885

$3,040Sale Price|20% Off

H 18 in W 6.25 in D 6.25 in

“Enlevement des Sabines”

By Marius Jean Antonin Mercié

Located in Southampton, NY

Here for your consideration is a beautiful highly detailed bronze done in the forth quarter of the nineteen century after the work of Jean Boulogne, known as Giambologna. Boulogne’s sculpture was done in marble and was completed between 1579 and 1583. The sculptor of this bronze is Antonin Mercie, a well known French sculptor born in 1845. The bronze represents the Rape of the Sabine Women (Latin: Sabinae raptae), also known as the Abduction of the Sabine Women or the Kidnapping of the Sabine Women, was an incident in Roman mythology in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of artists and sculptors, particularly during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras. Signed on base “Mercie” for Antonin Mercie.. In very good condition wirh original brown patina. The base which depicts rocks is bronze and has been painted a matt black. Provenance:: A Sarasota estate. Mercié, (Marius Jean Antonin Mercie...

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1880s Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Marius Pierre MontagneSeated Mercury, or Hermes - God of Speed, 1867

$12,000

H 24.63 in W 10.75 in D 15.75 in

Seated Mercury, or Hermes - God of Speed

Located in New York, NY

This Mercury by Montagne has lovely patina and surface and is a pleasingly different depiction of Winged speed as he is seated! It is an arresting pose and elegant and covers all fa...

Category

1860s Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Fabulous Italian Neoclassical Marble Sculpture of Hermes, 1890

$8,469

H 33.47 in Dm 17.72 in

Fabulous Italian Neoclassical Marble Sculpture of Hermes

Located in Rome, IT

19th century French finely chiseled bronze figure of Hermes . Signed Pigalle G . Cuspinera Hermes , the messenger of the gods, is sitting on a rock, ready to leap up. He is att...

Category

19th Century Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Ava BlitzSwimming in Black and White: painted abstract relief sculpture for wall or shelf, 2021

$1,080

H 12 in W 12 in D 2 in

Swimming in Black and White: painted abstract relief sculpture for wall or shelf

By Ava Blitz

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

This is a plaster cast relief sculpture painted with black and white designed to be mounted directly to the wall or installed on a shelf. It is an abstract image evoking flowing water and sea life. It is reminiscent of a fossil or natural or scientific curiosity in a "Wunderkammer," or historical cabinet of curiosities. It is signed on the back. Ava Blitz...

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2010s Abstract Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Plaster, Acrylic

Alexandre FalguièreDiana the Huntress, a bronze sculpture by Alexandre Falguière (1831–1900), 1882

$10,284

H 30.52 in W 30.52 in D 30.52 in

Diana the Huntress, a bronze sculpture by Alexandre Falguière (1831–1900)

By Alexandre Falguière

Located in Gent, VOV

This majestic bronze sculpture, titled Diana the Huntress, is the work of renowned French sculptor Alexandre Falguière, created in 1882. The Roman goddess of the hunt is depicted in ...

Category

Late 19th Century Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Boschetti Benedetto Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture of Diana Goddess of the Hunt Signed B. Boschetti., 1860

$13,309

H 27.56 in Dm 13 in

Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture of Diana Goddess of the Hunt Signed B. Boschetti.

Located in Rome, IT

Grand Tour Fine Group of Sculpture in Bronze after a Louvre Diana of Versailles or Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. Diana is represented at the hunt, hastening forward, as if in pursui...

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Mid-19th Century Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pierre Charles Lenoir"L'Infini", Circa 1910

$450

H 2.5 in W 2 in D 0.125 in

"L'Infini"

By Pierre Charles Lenoir

Located in Southampton, NY

Circa 1910 bronze cast medal by the French sculptor, Pierre Charles Lenoir. Edge mark, cornucopia. Pierre Lenoir was a French sculptor and medallist and was one of the Breton sculp...

Category

1910s Academic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Previously Available Items

Frederick William MacMonniesPan of Rohallion, 1889-90 classical bronze sculpture, 1889-90

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H 14.25 in W 4 in D 6 in

Pan of Rohallion, 1889-90 classical bronze sculpture

By Frederick William MacMonnies

Located in Beachwood, OH

Frederick W. MacMonnies (American, 1863-1937) Pan of Rohallion, 1889-90 (Garden 22) Bronze Signed on base, 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS NY' at base 14.25 x 4 x 6 inches A sculptor of classical figures, American-born Frederick MacMonnies...

Category

1880s Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Frederick William MacMonniesGold, Pan of Rohallion, Bronze, Sculpture, 1890

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H 30 in W 9.38 in

Gold, Pan of Rohallion, Bronze, Sculpture

By Frederick William MacMonnies

Located in New York, NY

This rare model of MacMonnies Pan of Rohallion is done in gilt patina instead of a dark patina. A great bronze and very famous model it would be a stu...

Category

1890s Romantic Frederick William MacMonnies Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Frederick William Macmonnies sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Frederick William Macmonnies sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs.