Augustus Saint-Gaudens

The Puritan

Striding from the wilderness with an oversized Bible and dramatic costume, this impressive figure encapsulates contrary nineteenth century opinions regarding colonial Puritans. This statuette is a reduced version of an 1887 bronze monument commissioned in Springfield, Massachusetts by Chester W. Chapin to honor his ancestor, the Deacon Samuel Chapin (1595-1675).

Saint-Gaudens cleverly crafted a sculpture with dual meaning. The figure’s imposing form and implements allowed Saint-Gaudens’s patrons to accept the sculpture as a tribute. However, progressive intellectuals saw these same elements as a menacing cudgel, pompous swagger, and burdensome Bible, revealing the self-importance and intolerance of Puritans, and their resultant persecution of Native Americans.