A sculptor of Indian figures and portraits, Cyrus Dallin created work that showed Indians as having noble bearing, simplicity, dignity, and elaborate costumes. This was a departure from earlier depictions of them "as a pitiful but appealing remnant of a once-proud and noble race." (Baigell 85) He was a careful student of anatomy, costume, and psysiognomay, and his highly realistic figures made them seem natural, interesting and worth knowing as human beings.

One of his major pieces is the statue of Paul Revere at Boston's Old North Church, for which he won an equestrian art contest. Another famous work is Appeal to the Great Spirit, at the Boston Museum of the Fine Arts. Other important works a...