Hermon Atkins MacNeilAmerican, 1866–1947The Sun Vow
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Sun Vow” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil imagined a rite of manhood in this portrayal of a Native American elder guiding a boy as he shoots an arrow skyward. The pair follows its ascent until it is lost in the sun’s rays. It was through the distorted lens of ethnographic displays at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago as well as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows that MacNeil’s interest in Indigenous cultures developed. He modeled The Sun Vow apart from any meaningful contact with Native peoples, executing it in Rome in 1898. MacNeil’s study of classical sculptures in Italy is visible here in the attentive rendering of the human form and harmonious lines of the figures’ silhouettes.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1926.1503
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
