Lot 1045: George E. Bissell (1839-1920)

stamped on base; Geo E. Bissell, J.E. Caldwell, Gorham Co. Founders
height 16 1/2in (42cm)

Provenance:
From the collection of Albert D. Henze, a resident of Philadephia.
Albert served with the Pennsylvania Division during the Mexican Revolution in 1916 and in World War I. He worked at the Charleston Navy Yard in Boston during World War II. where he directed efforts to "degauss" ships as a means to defeat magnetic mines.

George Edwin Bissell (1839-l920) was born in New Preston, Connecticut, the son of a quarryman and marble worker. During the Civil War he served as a private in the 23rd Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. After the war he resumed work in stonecutting with his family in Poughkeepsie, New York, and at age 32 received his first commission as a sculptor. Thereafter, he studied in Paris, Florence, and Rome.
Among his more important works are the Soldiers and Sailors monument, and a statue of Colonel Chatfield at Waterbury, Connecticut; and statues of General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York; of Chancellor John Watts in Trinity Churchyard, New York City; of Colonel Abraham de Peyster in Bowling Green, New York City; of Abraham Lincoln at Edinburgh and Clermont, Iowa; of Burns and Highland Mary, in Ayr, Scotland; of Chancellor James Kent, in the Congressional library, Washington, D.C.; and of President Arthur in Madison Square, New York City. Bissell also created smaller works, such as the offered bust of President Abraham Lincoln.