User:Regregory48/A Signal of Peace

A Signal of Peace is an 1890 bronze equestrian sculpture by Cyrus Edwin Dallin located in Lincoln Park, Chicago.

Cyrus Dallin grew a love and admiration for Native Americans from a young age, growing up in Utah near the home of multiple indigenous tribes, and he manifested this admiration into his art, consisting mainly of equestrian statues.

Dallin gained inspiration for A Signal of Peace in 1890 while studying art in Paris, and based the model off a member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which he was fascinated with and attended often. He entered it into the Paris Salon of 1890 and won honorable mention for his work.

In 1893, Lambert Tree bought the statue at the World's Columbian Exposition for $10,000, and donated it to Lincoln Park in Chicago, where it has now stood since the summer of 1894.

Despite evidence that displays Dallin's admiration for indigenous people and critiques of their treatment by white settlers, the monument is politically contested due to other artistic representations of Native Americans that have been perceived as problematic for their depiction of them as "savages," and a "dying race."

Dallin and the Indigenous American

Cyrus Dallin grew up in Springville, Utah, and was born on November 22, 1861. He lived in a small log cabin in a settlement that had close proximity to the Paiute and Ute tribes. His English father, Thomas Dallin, encouraged his children to interact and play with the children who lived in the tribes, so Dallin spent much of his childhood outdoors with the nearby indigenous population. While interacting with the Native people, he learned how to use a bow and arrow, ride a horse, and play games in the way of the Piaute and Ute people. At this time in his childhood is when Dallin grew his love for the indigenous people, and where his fascination with the equestrian figure of the Native American, and he manifested this interest in his art.

The Epic of the Indian

A Signal of Peace is one of Dallin's four most prominent sculptures of indigenous people known as The Epic of the Indian, which also includes The Medicine Man (1899), Protest of the Sioux (1904), and Appeal to the Great Spirit (1908).

Despite Dallin not explicitly stating the connection between these monuments, critics have put together a narrative that includes the statues as telling a story of a progression of the Native American race. It begins with A Signal of Peace depicting the "naive" welcome of Europeans by the Indian chief, following with the hesitancy and realization that the white settlers may cause harm in The Medicine Man. With The Protest of the Sioux, the American Indian is visibly fighting back against mistreatment from settlers, and the Appeal to the Great Spirit depicts the defeat of the indigenous people, as the Native American is surrendering himself with arms wide open.

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  A Signal of Peace (1890)
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  The Medicine Man (1899)
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  Protest of the Sioux (1904)
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  Appeal to the Great Spirit (1908)

Design Process and Funding

The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in 1890, taking place in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France.

While studying in Paris at the Académie Julian with Henri Michel Chapu from 1888-1890, Cyrus Dallin received his inspiration for A Signal of Peace while making frequent visits to the camp of the Buffalo Bill's West Show, which was playing in the Bois de Boulogne. Rosa Bonheur, who Dallin worked alongside during this time, was intrigued by the show and made sketches of Buffalo Bill alongside the other indigenous people, the horses, and buffalo. Dallin himself also regained his love of the Sioux tribe that he had since he was a child after seeing this show, especially seeing the chiefs on horseback.This is what inspired him to create a life-size equestrian statue depicting a Sioux Indian chief, using Philip, son of Kicking Bear as the model for the statue.

In 1890, he built the monument and entered it into the Paris Salon of 1890 at his own expense, where it won an honorable mention, which was uncommon for an American artist to receive at the time. The sculpture was exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. It was dedicated on June 9, 1894. The sculpture cost $10,000, and was donated by Lambert Tree.

Visual Properties

View of Lake Michigan from Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois.

The monument is a life-size bronze statue that depicts a Native American man who is barely clothed with just moccasins, a loincloth, and a feathered headpiece, riding on top of a "placid prarie pony." His left arm rests on the horse's neck, while his other hand is stretched upward holding a long spear, which is the universal signal of peace among the Indigenous Americans. The expression on the individual's face is one of a friendly and welcoming nature, thought to be representing the first meeting with the Europeans who were colonizing in North America. The statue is raised on a high granite pedestal, with a plaque reading: "A SIGNAL OF PEACE" with "The Gift of Lambert Tree" directly underneath.The statue, located in Lincoln Park, Chicago, has a view that overlooks the shore of Lake Michigan.

Political Contestation

A Signal of Peace displayed at the Paris Salon of 1890.

Dallin's A Signal of Peace, along with the three other indigenous equestrian monuments that make up The Epic of the Indian have been criticized as contributing to the depiction of Native Americans as a "defeated and dying race," and one that honors and recognizes the colonialism of white settlers in the United States.

Contrary to popular belief, however, evidence from Dallin's unpublished manuscripts, newspaper subs from past interviews, and old letters show that he was an advocate for the American indigenous people, and critiqued their mistreatment by white settlers. Dallin chose to represent his love and admiration for the American Indian through his art and equestrian sculptures, but due to the controversy among artistic representations of Native Americans, his work can be perceived by some as problematic.

See also

• List of public art in Chicago
• Cyrus Dallin Art Museum