''The Menotomy Hunter'' (1911) is a sculpture by
Cyrus E. Dallin
Cyrus Edwin Dallin (November 22, 1861 – November 14, 1944) was an American sculpture, sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans. He created more than 260 works, including the equest ...
in
Arlington, Massachusetts, showing a Native American hunter pausing at a brook for a drink of water. It is located between the Arlington Town Hall and the Robbins Memorial Library. The sculpture resides at the center of the garden between Town Hall and the Robbins Library, on a crest above a long, shallow reflecting pool. The man is equipped for a hunt, holding a bow. His catch for the day, a goose, rests by his foot.
The sculpture was commissioned by the family of the late Winfield Robbins. On the June 25, 1913, this sculpture and the nearby Robbins Flagstaff were dedicated and Dallin's speech included a passionate plea for renaming the town of Arlington as Menotomy after the historic significance of its largely vanished inhabitants.
The architect
Richard Clipston Sturgis designed a fountain and grounds to fit the sculpture into a naturalized setting.
In 1938, the Robbins sisters hired
Frederick Law Olmsted of the
Olmsted Brothers firm to redesign the gardens. The new design transformed the garden into a secluded, welcoming space that included a circular brick walk and an "informal, woodsy and rocky environment and a naturalistic planting as a background to the Indian". (Town Report, 1939.)
Like many of Dallin's iconic sculptures, this one too has seen its essence repurposed elsewhere. The statue has become one of Arlington's symbols. It is on the patch of the town's police officers and the fire department, and it is one of the logos used by the Spy Ponders, Arlington High School's athletic team.
The sculpture can be found outside the library at 700 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington and about west of the
Cyrus Dallin Art Museum.
See also
*
List of sculptures by Cyrus Dallin in Massachusetts
This is a list of free-standing sculptures by Cyrus Dallin in Massachusetts. A collection of his sculpture and painting can also be seen at the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum in Arlington, Massachusetts. Additional works can be found at the Springville ...
References
1911 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Massachusetts
Hunting in art
Monuments and memorials in Massachusetts
Sculptures of men in Massachusetts
Sculptures of Native Americans in Massachusetts
Works by Cyrus Edwin Dallin
{{Massachusetts-sculpture-stub