Nathan Hale

Frederick William MacMonnies

1890, cast by 1904 · Bronze · The American Wing

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 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 feet are somber reminders of his impending fate.

Artist

Frederick William MacMonnies

Date

1890, cast by 1904

Medium

Bronze

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Bequest of Mary Stillman Harkness, 1950