George Edwin Bissell

Lincoln Memorial (1893), Old Calton Burying Ground, Edinburgh, Scotland.

George Edwin Bissell (February 16, 1839 – August 30, 1920) was an American sculptor.

Biography

Bissell was born New Preston, Connecticut, the son of a quarryman and marble-cutter. During the American Civil War he served as a private in the 23rd Connecticut Volunteers in the Department of the Gulf (1862-1863), and on being mustered out became acting assistant paymaster in the South Atlantic Squadron. At the close of the war he joined his father's marble business in Poughkeepsie, New York.^[1]

He studied the art of sculpture abroad in 1875-1876, and lived much in Paris during the years 1883-1896, with occasional visits to America.^[1] Bissell also created smaller works, such as a bust of President Abraham Lincoln as well as a larger statue of the president.^[2]

Selected works

• Frederic de Peyster, New York Historical Society, New York City, ca. 1875.
• Chatfield Monument, Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, Connecticut, ca. 1880.
• General Horatio Gates, Saratoga Battle Monument, Saratoga, New York, 1885-86.^[3]
• Sam Sloan, Lackawanna Ferry Terminal, Hoboken, New Jersey, 1889.
• John Watts, depicting the New York politician of the same name, Trinity Church Cemetery, 1890.
• Bas-relief panel of Robert Burns and Highland Mary, on pedestal of G. A. Lawson's Statue of Robert Burns, Ayr, Scotland, 1891.
• Colonel Abraham de Peyster, New York Historical Society, 1896. This statue stood in Bowling Green Park from 1896 to 1972, and in Hanover Square from 1976 to 2004.
• Chester A. Arthur, Madison Square, New York City, 1898-99.
• Abraham Lincoln, Lightner Museum, St. Augustine, Florida, 1899.
• Chancellor James Kent, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., ca. 1899.

Civil War monuments

• Union Soldier, Civil War Monument, Town Green, Colchester, Connecticut, 1875.
• Soldiers' Monument, The Green, Waterbury, Connecticut, 1882-85.^[4]
• Soldiers' Monument, Soldiers' Monument Park, Winsted, Connecticut, 1887-90.^[5]
• Columbia, atop Soldiers' Monument, Civil War Memorial Park, Salisbury, Connecticut, 1891.^[6]
• Lincoln Memorial (In Memory of Scottish-American Soldiers), Old Calton Burying Ground, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1893.
• Bust of Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren, Smith Memorial Arch, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1901-04.
• Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Park, Clermont, Iowa, 1902.^[7] A replica of Bissell's statue in Edinburgh, Scotland.

• 
  Civil War Monument (1875), Colchester, Connecticut.
• 
  John Lyman Chatfield (unveiled 1887), Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, Connecticut.
• 
  Sam Sloan (1889), Lackawanna Ferry Terminal, Hoboken, New Jersey.
• 
  John Watts (1890), Trinity Church (New York City).
• 
  Abraham de Peyster (1896), New York Historical Society, New York City.
• 
  Chester A. Arthur (1898–99), Madison Square, New York City.
• 
  Chancellor James Kent (c. 1899), Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
• 
  Bust of Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren (1901–04), Smith Memorial Arch, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Other sculptures

• 
  Booth monument, Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, Connecticut (1878).
• 
  N.J. Welton monument, Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, Connecticut (1880).

References

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bissell, George Edwin". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Opitz, Glenn, B.,editor, Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, Apollo Books, Poughkeepsie, NY 1986

External links

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