The Puritan (Springfield, Massachusetts)

The Puritan is a bronze statue by sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, which later became so popular that it was reproduced for over 20 other cities, museums, universities, and private collectors around the world. Augustus Saint-Gaudens was one of the most influential and successful artists of the late 19th century.

In 1881, Chester W. Chapin, a railroad tycoon and congressman from Springfield, Massachusetts, commissioned the renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create a bronze likeness of his ancestor, Deacon Samuel Chapin (1595–1675), one of the early settlers of the City of Springfield. By 1881, Springfield had become one of America's most innovative industrial and manufacturing centers, and was one of the wealthiest cities in the United States.

The sculpture, cast at the Bureau Brothers Foundry in Philadelphia, was unveiled on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1887 in Stearns Square, between Bridge Street and Worthington Street - a collaboration between the artistic "dream team" of Stanford White (of the renowned architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White) and Saint-Gaudens - and featured numerous sculptural and landscape architectural details to enhance the sculpture. In 1899 the statue was moved to Merrick Park, on the corner of Chestnut and State Streets, one of Springfield's most important intersections (now part of the Quadrangle cultural center). It has remained there ever since.

This impressive sculpture of the The Deacon can be found next to the palatial Springfield City Library. The base is inscribed: "1595 Anno Domini 1675 Deacon Samuel Chapin One Of The Founders Of Springfield"

The statue was so popular with the public that Saint-Gaudens decided to produce smaller scale versions of this work under the title The Puritan. He correctly surmised that this would be an excellent source of addition income. Today more than 25 slightly altered copies of this work can be found in museums, art galleries, universities, and private collections around the world. For example, a copy of The Puritan remains on display in gallery 767 of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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