Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937) Bacchante and Infant Faun

Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937)
Bacchante and Infant Faun.
Incised 'F. Macmonnies/1890' in the top of the bronze base, inscribed 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS N-Y-' on the rim of the bronze base. Bronze with brown/gold patina, height 16 in. (40.5 cm) including the bronze base..
N.B.
Commissioned by Charles Follen McKim, the original bronze Bacchante and Infant Faun measured 84 inches high. He was a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, which 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.

Half-size 34-inch 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 and Company in New York.