Modeled in 1887, Fawn (First Model), was the first sculpture in Alexander Phimister Proctor's artistic oeuvre. According to Peter H. Hassrick, when Fawn was first shown in New York's Century Club, it marked a turning point in the artist's career: "It was there that the small plaster attracted the attention of Frank D. Millet, who was in charge of sculpture decorations for the World's Columbian Exposition. Taken with its charm, sentiment, and the powerful statement it made about the fragility of nature, Millet invited the young Colorado artist to join Edward Kemeys in producing animal statues to ornament the bridges over the fairground lagoons and canals. It proved to be Proctor's first major commission and catapulted the artist into the limelight." (P.H. Hassrick, Wildlife and Western Heroes: Alexander Phimister Proctor, Sculptor, London, 2003, p. 99)