How does this artwork elucidate its History?
Having grown up in Utah, the young Dallin frequently interacted with Native American children, who gave him insights that he called upon while creating this and other works. For Appeal to the Great Spirit , the model was Antonio Corsi, who posed for several great painters and sculptors of the era.Appeal to the Great Spirit was cast in Paris, and won a gold medal for its exhibition in the Paris Salon. On January 23, 1912, it was installed outside the main entrance to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). The installation was originally intended to be temporary, but the statue was never removed, and eventually came to be considered as an iconic symbol of the MFA.A restoration of the original Boston version was reversed at Dallin's request, because he preferred the light green tones that had developed on the equestrian sculpture over time rather than the typical "statuary brown" patina the conservator applied without consulting him.
Prominent Equestrian Statues of Indigenous People, by Cyrus Edwin Dallin
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
On March 3, 2019, the MFA convened a public discussion of the artwork among five art historians and museum curators; two of the panelists were also members of Native American tribes. In October 2019, as part of its first community celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day, the MFA surrounded its iconic statue with placards displaying questions and comments submitted by the community, including Native Americans. In 2020, the MFA website posted two brief essays written by Native Americans commenting on the sculpture and its cultural meanings.In 2021, two temporary art installations were placed around and near to the sculpture. Raven Reshapes Boston: A Native Corn Garden at the MFA, by Elizabeth James-Perry, (Aquinnah Wampanoag, b. 1973), consists of corn, beans, and sedges planted in a small garden completely surrounding the statue. Ekua Holmes (African American, b. 1955), planted a large patch of sunflowers close by, called Radiant Community, as part of her ongoing Roxbury Sunflower Project.
Paris Salon Boston Great Spirit equestrian sculpture Aquinnah Wampanoag Indigenous Peoples' Day Boston Museum of Fine Arts Cyrus Edwin Dallin Ekua Holmes Native American patina sunflower Paris Utah sedge cast