Description

Striding purposefully forward with a knotty walking stick and a hefty Bible, this figure of a Puritan embodies perseverance, resilience, and stern morality—qualities expressed with both admiration and a degree of humor. Augustus Saint-Gaudens first created this portrayal of Deacon Samuel Chapin, a 17th-century leader in Springfield, Massachusetts, as a large-scale monument. The work was unveiled on Thanksgiving Day 1887, underlining the importance of settler origin stories for some members of the local community. Smaller reproductions like this one proved immensely popular at the turn of the 20th century, demonstrating the expansive and enduring reach of such mythmaking.

Provenance

Charles Deering (1852–1927), Chicago and Miami, FL, 1906 [Puritan dated Dec. 11, 1906, on list of works purchased by Charles Deering, “Rec’d Mr. C. D.,” Augustus Saint-Gaudens Papers, box 5, folder 25, Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH]; by descent to his daughters Marion McCormick (born Marion Deering; Mrs. Chauncey McCormick, 1886–1965), Chicago, and Barbara Danielson (born Barbara Deering; Mrs. Richard E. Danielson, 1888–1982), Groton, MA, 1927; Marion McCormick, after 1936 [Puritan on Charles Deering collection list; collection list dates to 1936 or later; ownership not yet designated between daughters; copy in institutional archives]; by descent to her son Brooks McCormick (1917–2006), Chicago, 1965; estate of Brooks McCormick, 2006; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2007.

The Puritan

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Modeled 1883–86, cast after 1899

Accession Number

191185

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

77.5 × 50.8 × 33 cm (30 1/2 × 20 × 13 in.)

Classification

sculpture

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Bequest of Brooks McCormick