A 57-Year Ride: Cyrus Dallin’s Quest to Raise the Iconic Paul Revere Statue

Politics, Art, & Perseverance: Join The Paul Revere House and Cyrus Dallin Art Museum for a First-Ever Look at the Journey to Create Boston’s Most Famous Statue.

For the first time, The Paul Revere House and Cyrus Dallin Art Museum are thrilled to present a joint program to share the remarkable journey behind Cyrus Dallin’s Paul Revere Monument.

Learn about the origins of this statue, beloved by Bostonians and recognized around the world as an emblematic image of the city and spirit behind the War of Independence.
Born on the Utah frontier, Cyrus Dallin was just 22 years old and freshly arrived in Boston for artistic training when in 1883 he entered and won the City’s competition to honor Paul Revere’s legacy with a monument in Copley Square.

It was not until 1940, 57 years, seven versions of the same statue, and countless twists and turns later, that Dallin’s vision was realized in the North End’s Prado, where it stands today.

In the intervening years, Dallin continued his training in Boston and Paris and became one of America’s most celebrated sculptors. His work was inspired by classical forms, figures in Euro-American history, and America’s Indigenous peoples. His many public sculptures bring beauty and a unique historical perspective to shared spaces across the nation, including Chicago, Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Syracuse, and Boston. His Angel of Moroni graces the top of the Salt Lake Temple in Utah and has been replicated worldwide. He remained an active and outspoken advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples throughout his life, mentored a generation of sculptors as an instructor at Massachusetts’s Normal School (now Massachusetts College of Art and Design), where he worked for over 40 years, and contributed much of his time and talent to make his adopted hometown of Arlington, Massachusetts the vibrant community it is today.

This virtual program will introduce participants to Dallin and illuminate the 57-year journey through the dynamic power shifts that characterized Boston politics in the early 20th century and shaped the tortuous path Dallin pursued to create this work and honor Revere.

Join us and learn how this story of perseverance proved to be not just a culmination of Dallin’s lifelong efforts, but one that also further developed Paul Revere’s legacy and image for future generations of Americans.

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