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27-533: The Chicago Lions namesake is taken from the two large lion statues that guard the entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago Building . Notable sponsors include Athletico Physical Therapy, Oakmark International Funds, and CPH and Associates. The following is a list of former and current Lions players and coaches that have earned caps for international tests: This article about a sports team in Illinois

54-551: A Chicago major league sports team is making a strong postseason run, the sculptures will be adorned with oversized mock-ups of hats or helmets in order to show support for the team. In late April 2020 (amid the COVID-19 pandemic ), mock-ups of a surgical mask were placed on the sculptures in order to bring public attention to health safety measures implemented in Illinois at the time that required masking in public. A mock-up of

81-595: A dozen better-known sculptors. Those considered included Augustus Bauer , Daniel Chester French , Frederick William Macmonnies , Philip Martiny , and Augustus Saint-Gaudens . Bryan Lathrop wrote him in September of 1892, strongly recommending he choose Kemeys. Lathrop proposed having his sister, Florence Lathrop Field, acquire and gift the Art Institute such sculptures. Lathrop stated that Field had wanted to donate them anonymously. However, in voting to accept

108-407: A gift to the museum in memory of her late husband Henry Field . The bronze sculptures are modeled after African lions. Each sculpture weighs more than two tons . The northern sculpture weighs approximately 5,100 pounds (2,300 kg). They are approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) in length. Today, the sculptures have a green patina . The sculptures flank the outside of the main entrance to

135-577: A mask was similarly placed on the Chicago Picasso . Within a day vandals had removed one of the masks on the lion sculptures, which was quickly replaced. In 2015, as part of the Statue Stories Chicago public art exhibit, QR codes were installed near each of the statues. If scanned, the codes would allow the lions to "speak", with one of them being voiced by Tracy Letts and the other by Francis Guinan . Tina Landau of

162-771: A year studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , and also several years in Florence , Italy, studying in the studio of Thomas Ball . French first earned acclaim for The Minute Man , commissioned by the town of Concord, Massachusetts , which was unveiled April 19, 1875, on the centenary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord . French established his own studio, first in Washington, D.C. , which he later moved to Boston and then to New York City . In 1893, French's reputation grew with his Statue of

189-516: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This American rugby union team article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lions (Kemeys) Lions is a pair of 1893 bronze sculptures by Edward Kemeys , installed outside of the main entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago , Illinois . The sculptures are well-recognized public artworks. The sculptures were commissioned by Florence Lathrop Field as

216-507: Is named for the statues. An unofficial Twitter account exists for the sculptures. They are, nowadays, decorated in the winter holiday season with wreaths and bows in an annual "wreathing of the lions" ceremony. This tradition was begun in 1991 and has been done nearly every year since. The wreathing ceremony is traditionally held the day following the United States Thanksgiving holiday observance . Often, when

243-987: The American Academy of Arts and Letters (which awarded him the Gold Medal for Sculpture in 1917), the Architectural League , and the Accademia di San Luca , of Rome. He was a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and a co-founder of the American Academy in Rome . He was a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor and was awarded a medal of honor from the Paris Exposition of 1900 ; he also

270-400: The Art Institute of Chicago Building (home to the Art Institute of Chicago ), being located along the east side of South Michigan Avenue at the road's intersection with East Adams Street in the city of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois . The sculptures have occasionally been referred to as the "great protectors". The artist, Edward Kemeys , described the statues as "guarding

297-707: The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. French was born on April 20, 1850, in Exeter, New Hampshire , the son of Anne Richardson (1811–1856), daughter of William Merchant Richardson (1774–1838), chief justice of New Hampshire, and of Henry Flagg French (1813–1885), a lawyer, judge, Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary , and author of a book that described the French drain . His siblings were Henriette Van Mater French Hollis (1839–1911), Sarah Flagg French Bartlett (1846–1883), and William M.R. French (1843–1914). He

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324-496: The Steppenwolf Theatre Company wrote a script in which the two sculptures were portrayed as "gently feuding brothers". In 2018, as part of another Statue Stories of Chicago installation, the sculptures were voiced by Letts and Mandy Patinkin . In 2020, the base of the northern sculpture was vandalized, with the words "inside mania" spray painted beneath the statute. A woman was criminally charged for

351-562: The Palace of Fine Arts (today's Museum of Science and Industry building). However, documents and photographs from the World's Fair contradict this claim, indicating instead that the lion sculptures displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition had been created by A. Phimister Proctor and Theodore Baur rather than Kemeys. The bronze sculptures for the Art Institute of Chicago were commissioned by Florence Lathrop Field , an early benefactor of

378-871: The Place d'Iena in Paris, France, in 1900; the General Grant statue in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia , commissioned by the Association for Public Art (formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association); and the equestrian statue of Joseph Hooker in Boston. French was one of many sculptors who frequently employed Audrey Munson as a model; another frequent sitter was Hettie Anderson . Together with Walter Leighton Clark and others, he

405-1111: The Republic for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago . Other works by French include the First Division Monument and the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain in Washington; John Harvard , Cambridge, Massachusetts ; bronze doors for the Boston Public Library ; and Four Continents at the US Custom House, New York (now the Alexander Hamilton US Custom House ). In addition to the Lincoln Memorial, French collaborated with architect Henry Bacon on numerous memorials around

432-426: The building. During this time, the sculptures underwent conservation work. They were removed a second time in 2022 to again undergo conservation work (cleaning and waxing). A time capsule was placed after the 2001 conservation work, accompanying a much older time capsule that is also concealed by the sculptures. During the 2022 conservation work, the time capsules were temporarily removed, being returned unopened when

459-455: The building." Both are depicted in active poses. Kemeys described the northern lion as positioned "on the prowl ," and said that it "has his back up, and is ready for a roar and a spring." He described the southern lion as positioned "in an attitude of defiance" and "attracted by something in the distance which he is closely watching." Kemeys referred to the design of the southern sculpture as "the most difficult I have ever attempted." Kemeys

486-712: The country and on the Dupont Circle fountain in Washington, D.C. In 1893, French was a founding member of the National Sculpture Society , and he was appointed a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1913. During this time, he served as an instructor at the Art Students League of New York , teaching sculpture there in 1890 and 1898. French also became a member of the National Academy of Design (1901),

513-545: The gift on January 31, 1893, the board of trustees executive committee also voted to thank the donor. The sculptures were cast in Chicago by the American Bronze Founding Company in 1893, and were unveiled on May 10, 1894. The sculptures are regarded to be iconic features of Chicago, being among the city's most well-known sculptures. The Chicago Lions rugby union team, founded in 1964,

540-531: The iconic design of the printing press and the wording on the award: "For disinterested and meritorious public service rendered by an American newspaper during the year….". In collaboration with Edward Clark Potter he modeled the George Washington statue, commissioned by a group that called itself "The Association of American Women for the Erection of a Statue of Washington in Paris" and unveiled in

567-456: The museum. Fields' late husband Henry Field had been an admirer of Kemeys' sculptures, and her brother Bryan Lathrop , a trustee of the Art Institute, had been a patron of Kemeys. After the board of trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago had made a decision for there to be guardian lion sculptures outside of the new museum building, the president of the board of trustees, Charles L. Hutchinson , favored commissioning such as work from one of

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594-600: The sculptures were reinstalled. Furthermore, the south sculpture was found to have two Indian Head cent coins underneath it, which were temporarily removed and returned to their place underneath the sculpture when it was reinstalled. Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include The Minute Man , an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts , and his 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln at

621-403: The vandalism. In July 2021, the northern sculpture itself was vandalized with spray painted tagging . In 1910, the sculptures were moved slightly from their original placement to new positions 12 feet (3.7 m) nearer to the museum building. They remained in place until being temporarily removed from early 2000 until 2001, being removed in order to accommodate repair work to the entrance of

648-507: Was a leading figure in America's animalier arts movement. Like other artists in the animalier movement (which began in France), he studied living animals as inspiration for his works. The sculptures are often described as being bronze re-castings of temporary plaster lion sculptures that Kemeys had created for display on the grounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition outside of

675-645: Was also one of the founders of the Berkshire Playhouse, which later became the Berkshire Theatre Festival . French's daughter, Margaret, also occasionally modeled for him, including for some of his rare portrait paintings, and became famous in her own right as a sculptor under the name Margaret French Cresson . In 1917, Harvard's citation in conferring an honorary Master of Arts referred to his statue of Emerson when it called him "a sculptor, whose skillful hand, unlike that of

702-555: Was granted honorary degrees from Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard, and Columbia universities. He was a founding member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts , serving from 1910 to 1915, including as chairman from 1912 to 1915. In 1917, French and a colleague, Henry Augustus Lukeman , designed the Pulitzer Prize gold medal presented to laureates. French designed the side of the prize with Benjamin Franklin on it, while Lukeman created

729-489: Was the uncle of Senator Henry F. Hollis . In 1867, French moved with his family to Concord, Massachusetts , where he was a neighbor and friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson , and the Alcott family . His decision to pursue sculpting was influenced by Louisa May Alcott 's sister Abigail May Alcott . French's early education included training in anatomy with William Rimmer and in drawing with William Morris Hunt . French spent

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