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

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

Bissell was born

New Preston, Connecticut New Preston is a rural village and census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of the town of Washington, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the New Preston CDP was 1,182, out of 3,5 ...

, the son of a quarryman and marble-cutter. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

he served as a private in the 23rd Connecticut Volunteers in the

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was cons ...

(1862–1863), and on being mustered out became acting assistant paymaster in the

South Atlantic Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When th ...

. At the close of the war he joined his father's marble business in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

. He studied the art of sculpture abroad in 1875–1876, and lived much in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

during the years 1883–1896, with occasional visits to America. Bissell also created smaller works, such as a bust of President Abraham Lincoln as well as a larger statue of the president.

Selected works

* ''Frederic de Peyster'',

New York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, ca. 1875. * Chatfield Monument, Riverside Cemetery,

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

, ca. 1880. * '' General Horatio Gates'',

Saratoga Battle Monument The Saratoga Battle Monument is a granite obelisk located in the village of Victory, Saratoga County, New York. The monument commemorates what is called the "Turning Point" of the American Revolution—the surrender of British forces led by Gener ...

Saratoga, New York } Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major villa ...

, 1885–86. * ''Sam Sloan'', Lackawanna Ferry Terminal,

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

, 1889. *

Statue of John Watts An outdoor bronze sculpture depicting U.S. Congressman John Watts by George Edwin Bissell is installed in the Trinity Church Cemetery outside Manhattan's Trinity Church, in the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent p ...

, depicting the New York politician of the same name'',

Trinity Church Cemetery The parish of Trinity Church has three separate burial grounds associated with it in New York City. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, near Wall Street and Broadway. Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gal ...

, 1890. * ''Bas-relief panel of Robert Burns and Highland Mary'', on pedestal of

George Anderson Lawson George Anderson Lawson (Edinburgh 1832 – 23 September 1904) was a British Victorian era sculptor who was associated with the New Sculpture movement. Life He was born at Edinburgh in 1832, the son of David Lawson and Anne Campbell. He wa ...

's ''Statue of Robert Burns'',

Ayr, Scotland Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, 1891. * ''Colonel

Abraham de Peyster Abraham de Peyster (July 8, 1657 – August 3, 1728) was the 20th mayor of New York City from 1691 to 1694, and served as Governor of New York, 1700–1701. Early life De Peyster was born in New Amsterdam on July 8, 1657, to Johannes de Peyste ...

'',

, 1896. This statue stood in Bowling Green Park from 1896 to 1972, and in Hanover Square from 1976 to 2004. * Statue of Chester A. Arthur, Madison Square, New York City, 1898–99. * ''

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

'',

Lightner Museum The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiques, mostly American Gilded Age pieces, housed within the historic Hotel Alcazar building in downtown St. Augustine. This 1887 Spanish Renaissance Revival style building is listed on the National Register ...

, St. Augustine, Florida, 1899. * '' Chancellor James Kent'',

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, ca. 1899.

Civil War monuments

* ''Union Soldier'', Civil War Monument, Town Green,

Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecti ...

, 1875. * Soldiers' Monument, The Green,

, 1882–85. * Soldiers' Monument, Soldiers' Monument Park,

Winsted, Connecticut Winsted is a census-designated place and an incorporated city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the town of Winchester. The population of Winsted was 7,712 at the 2010 census, out of 11,242 in the entire town of Win ...

, 1887–90. * ''Columbia'', atop Soldiers' Monument, Civil War Memorial Park,

Salisbury, Connecticut Salisbury () is a town situated in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is the northwesternmost in the state of Connecticut; the Massachusetts-New York-Connecticut tri-state marker is located at the northwest corner of the town ...

, 1891. * Lincoln Memorial (In Memory of Scottish-American Soldiers), Old Calton Burying Ground,

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, 1893. * ''Bust of Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren'',

Smith Memorial Arch Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to Fairmount Park, West Fairmount Pa ...

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1901–04. * ''Abraham Lincoln'',

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, Clermont, Iowa, 1902.Clermont Lincoln
from AbrahamLincolnOnline. A replica of Bissell's statue in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Gallery

File:Colchester Village HD - Civil War monument.jpg, Civil War Monument (1875), Colchester, Connecticut. File:John Lyman Chatfield Monument by George Edwin Bissell, Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, CT - February 2016.JPG, ''

John Lyman Chatfield John Lyman Chatfield was a Union Army colonel in the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded while assaulting Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863, and died on August 9, 1863. Early life Chatfield was born September 13, 1826, at Oxfor ...

'' (unveiled 1887), Riverside Cemetery,

. File:SamSloanStatue.jpg, ''Sam Sloan'' (1889), Lackawanna Ferry Terminal, Hoboken, New Jersey. File:0039TIARA P1000468.JPG, ''John Watts'' (1890),

Trinity Church (New York City) Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and end ...

. File:WLA nyhistorical George Edwin Bissell.jpg, ''Abraham de Peyster'' (1896),

, New York City. File:Chester A. Arthur statue by Bissell jeh.jpg, ''Chester A. Arthur'' (1898–99),

Madison Square Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. ...

, New York City. File:Loc-kent-highsmith.jpg, ''Chancellor James Kent'' (c. 1899),

, Washington, D.C. File:Smith arch Dahlgren.jpg , ''Bust of Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren'' (1901–04),

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. File:Booth Monument (George E. Bissell, sculptor 1878), Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, CT - February 2016.JPG, Booth monument, Riverside Cemetery,

(1878). File:N.J. Welton Monument (George E. Bissell, sculptor 1880), Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, CT - January 2016 01.JPG, N.J. Welton monument, Riverside Cemetery,

(1880).

References

Attribution: * * Opitz, Glenn, B.,editor, ''Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers'', Apollo Books, Poughkeepsie, NY 1986

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissell, George Edwin People of Connecticut in the American Civil War 1839 births 1920 deaths People from New Preston, Connecticut 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors Military personnel from Connecticut 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists