Carol Brooks MacNeil (January 15, 1871 – June 22, 1944) was an American sculptor, born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where she studied at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

under

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860 – October 30, 1936) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Part of the American Renaissance movement, his monumental pieces include, ''Fountain of Time'', ''Spirit of the Great Lakes'', and ''The ...

. MacNeil modeled many charming and unique designs for vases, teapots, inkstands, and other decorative and useful objects, as well as children's busts, including those of her two sons, and statuettes.

Life

The daughter of a painter father, MacNeil chose instead to work in sculpture. MacNeil studied in Paris under Frederick William MacMonnies and Jean Antoine Injalbert. She was one of the " white rabbits" who worked for

at the

World Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The c ...

of 1893, along with other female artists including Helen F. Mears. In 1895, she married Hermon Atkins MacNeil, a sculptor of American Indians and heroic monuments. They had two sons, Claude A. MacNeil and Alden B. MacNeil. MacNeil evidently collaborated with her husband on at least one project, a sculpture of

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

in the '' William McKinley Monument'' in front of the

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, which was dedicated in September 1907. MacNeil took responsibility in raising her two children which allowed for less time toward her artwork causing her to produce a limited number of artworks after their birth. MacNeil won an honorable mention at the International Exposition of 1900 and a silver medal in the same year at the Exposition Universelle. In 1904, she was awarded a bronze medal for a fountain at the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federa ...

, held in

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. She was a member of the National Sculpture Society. A longtime resident of the College Point neighborhood in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York, MacNeil died in the borough's Jamaica Hospital.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macneil, Carol Brooks 1871 births 1944 deaths 19th-century American sculptors 20th-century American sculptors Artists from Chicago School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Sculptors from Illinois 20th-century American women sculptors 19th-century American women sculptors