The Signs of the Zodiac
Herman A. MacNeil, Sculptor
One of the loveliest gems of beauty in the Court of the Universe is Herman A. MacNeil’s cameo frieze of gliding figures. In the centre, with wings outstretched, is Atlas, mythologically the first astronomer. Passing to left and right glide maidens, two and two, carrying their symbols - for these are the signs of the zodiac. These maids are the Hyades and Pleiades, the fourteen daughters of Atlas. It is as if the figures of some rare old Greek vase had suddenly distributed themselves along the top of the great piers. For absolute refinement, for a certain old Greek spirit in the Court of the Universe, these reliefs could not be excelled.