"Appeal to the great spirit" was sculpted by Cyrus Edwin Dallin. The sculpture stands over 10 feet tall in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. This powerful sculpture conveys defiance and desperation through the use of a Native American man. Appeal to the great spirit was first displayed at the national sculptors society exhibit in Baltimore in 1908. The work won the gold medal at the Paris salon the next year. The sculpture is also done to scale.
The sculpture itself displays a Native American man leaning back on his horse with his arms out. The Native American man displays defiance and desperation in the face of being ridden out of his homeland by the Europeans. This theme can be seen clearly when you observe the mans body language. His stance on the horse shows a desperate cry for help to something not human, some higher power that he is asking for assistance.
Cyrus Dallin was raised near Native American reserves and had a close relationship with many Native Americans as a child. Which is probably the reason for Dallin using Native Americans to show his message of crying out for help to a higher power, or searching for meaning in a bad situation. Though this message could be applied in various ways, Dallin used the Native man because of familiarity with that culture. This sculpture could also show a Muslim, Christian, or Jewish man praying to their own "great spirit".
At first glance you might think this sculpture was just of a Native American man on his horse as a symbol of power, as I did. When you take the time to study the figure you notice it is not a symbol of power. It is a symbol of desperation and defiance. Dallin also might be representing some of his own feelings of struggle with art and sculpting. Dallin might of used the Native American man because he felt they represented desperation in a more pure form as they were driven out of their homeland by Europeans.
In conclusion, The theme of desperation and defiance in Dallin's "appeal to the great spirit" is clearly shown.
