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Nathan Hale

Founder Cast by E. Gruet French
1890, cast by 1904
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 766
In 1890 MacMonnies won a competition for a statue of Nathan Hale (1755–1776), the Revolutionary War hero who was captured infiltrating British lines and hanged in 1776 as a spy. The bronze was erected in Manhattan’s City Hall Park in 1893. MacMonnies had no images of Hale to consult, so he portrayed him as a quintessential American patriot. Hale appears moments before his execution on September 22, 1776, having just uttered his famous words, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." He is clothed as a schoolmaster, which was his actual profession; his bound arms and ankles are somber reminders of his impending fate.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Nathan Hale
  • Artist: Frederick William MacMonnies (American, New York 1863–1937 New York)
  • Founder: Cast by E. Gruet
  • Date: 1890, cast by 1904
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 28 x 7 3/4 x 6 in. (71.1 x 19.7 x 15.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Mary Stillman Harkness, 1950
  • Object Number: 50.145.38
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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The Cobbler, Frederick William MacMonnies American, Charcoal on off-white laid paper, American
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Self-portrait, Frederick William MacMonnies American, Oil on canvas, American
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