George Keller was an American architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 and engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

. He enjoyed a diverse and successful career, and was sought for his designs of bridges, houses, monuments, and various commercial and public buildings. Keller's most famous projects, however, are the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

, and the James A. Garfield Memorial

James A. Garfield Memorial

The James A. Garfield Memorial was built in memory of the 20th U.S. President, James A. Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881. The memorial is located at 12316 Euclid Avenue in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio...

 in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

.

Biography

He was born on December 15, 1842 in Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

 in Ireland to Thomas Keller (1804-1880) and Susan Pratt (1805-1888). Keller emigrated with his family to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 as a child. Irish immigrants were at the time considered inferior, and during his early years Keller endured a considerable measure of hardship and discrimination. Lacking connections and unable to obtain schooling in Europe like many of his professional peers, an ambitious nature and a school of hard knocks

School of Hard Knocks

The School of Hard Knocks is an idiomatic phrase meaning the education one gets from life's usually negative experiences, often contrasted with formal education...

 education gave Keller an adequate base of knowledge. As a young man, he accepted employment with an Irish architect in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, but returned to New York to join the firm of architect Peter B. Wight. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two. Keller’s association with Wight introduced him to the aesthetic philosophy

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...

 of John Ruskin

John Ruskin

John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...

 and to serious architectural study, which was cut short by the outbreak of the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Though Keller planned to join the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

, a dry inkwell prevented him from signing the enlistment papers. Choosing to see this as an ill omen, he gladly accepted an engineering position with the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn Navy Yard

The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...

 instead. Moving to Hartford at the war's end, he took a job designing monuments. Around 1885 he married Mary Monteith Smith (1860-1946) and they had three children: Hilda Montieth Keller (1888-1978), Walter Smith Keller, Sr. (1898-1981), and George Monteith Keller I (1921-1993).

The postwar building boom brought Keller to national prominence. Though he won design competitions for Civil War monuments in several cities, his Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch is a notable memorial to the American Civil War located in Hartford, Connecticut. It was the first permanent triumphal arch in America, and honors the 4,000 Hartford citizens who served in the war, and the 400 who died for the Union.The arch's first conception...

 at the entrance to Bushnell Park

Bushnell Park

Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut is the oldest publicly funded park in the United States. It was conceived by the Reverend Horace Bushnell in the mid-1850s at a time when the need for open public spaces was just starting to be recognized....

 in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

, boldly broke the conventional form that had become the accepted configuration. Monuments of this type typically consisted of a cylindrical column, or shaft, surmounted by an allegorical female figure, usually Victory, with four sculpted figures surrounding the base. In contrast, Keller's Hartford monument, an eclectic Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 construction dedicated in 1886, was “perhaps the first permanent triumphal arch

Triumphal arch

A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...

 in the United States.” One of the arch’s most striking elements is a bas-relief frieze featuring life-size figures carved by Bohemian-born sculptor Caspar Buberl

Caspar Buberl

Caspar Buberl was an American sculptor. He is best known for his Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio , and for the -long frieze on the Pension Building in Washington, D.C..-Biography:Born in Königsberg, Bohemia, Caspar Buberl (1834 –...

. The north side of the frieze was carved by English-born sculptor Samuel James Kitson

Samuel James Kitson

Samuel James Kitson was a fine arts sculptor active in the United States from about 1876 to 1906. He maintained studios in New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. Most of his statuary were executed in marble. Many were religious in nature. His work consisted of full body statues, head and...

.

Keller's involvement with the James A. Garfield Memorial in Cleveland began after he submitted an architectural design to the trustees of the Garfield National Memorial Committee. The committee, headed by ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...

 along with Jeptha H. Wade

Jeptha Wade

Jeptha Homer Wade was an American industrialist, philanthropist, and one of the founding members of Western Union Telegraph....

, president of Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery

Lake View Cemetery

Lake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...

, had been formed for the purpose of securing a plan for a memorial to President James A. Garfield following his assassination in 1881. To this end during the autumn of 1883 the committee sponsored a design competition in which Keller took part. The competition promised a prize of $1,000 to the winning design, thus attracting not only American but also European entries. To judge the submissions, the committee obtained the assistance of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 architect Henry van Brunt

Henry Van Brunt

Henry Van Brunt FAIA was a 19th-century American architect and architectural writer.-Life and work:Born in Boston in 1832, Van Brunt attended Boston Latin School, and graduated from Harvard College in 1854...

 and English-born architect Calvert Vaux

Calvert Vaux

Calvert Vaux , was an architect and landscape designer. He is best remembered as the co-designer , of New York's Central Park....

 of New York City. Both van Brunt and Vaux ultimately chose Keller's design, and he was awarded the commission on June 24, 1884. Excavation for the monument at Lake View Cemetery began on October 6, 1885; it was dedicated on Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...

, May 30, 1890. Once again, Keller chose Caspar Buberl to execute figural friezes for his design. Keller died in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

 on July 7, 1935.

Public monuments by George Keller

Monument	Location	City and State	Construction Begun	Cornerstone Laid	Dedicated	Sculptor
Soldiers National Monument	Gettysburg National Military Park Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...	Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...		July 3, 1865	July 1, 1869	Randolph Rogers Randolph Rogers Randolph Rogers was an American sculptor. He was a prolific sculptor of subjects related to the American Civil War and other historical themes.-Biography:...
Soldiers Monument		Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...			1874
Civil War Monument	Merrimack Common	Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...		May 30, 1878	September 11, 1879	Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl was an American sculptor. He is best known for his Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio , and for the -long frieze on the Pension Building in Washington, D.C..-Biography:Born in Königsberg, Bohemia, Caspar Buberl (1834 –... and others
U.S. Soldier Monument	Antietam National Battlefield Site	Sharpsburg, Maryland Sharpsburg, Maryland Sharpsburg is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States, approximately south of Hagerstown. The population was 691 at the 2000 census....			September 17, 1880	James W. Pollette
Soldiers and Sailors Monument	Lafayette Square Lafayette Square, Buffalo Lafayette Square is a park in the center of downtown Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States that hosts a Civil War monument. The block, which was once square, is lined by many of the city's tallest buildings...	Buffalo, New York Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...		July 4, 1882	July 4, 1884	Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl was an American sculptor. He is best known for his Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio , and for the -long frieze on the Pension Building in Washington, D.C..-Biography:Born in Königsberg, Bohemia, Caspar Buberl (1834 –...
Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch	Bushnell Park Bushnell Park Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut is the oldest publicly funded park in the United States. It was conceived by the Reverend Horace Bushnell in the mid-1850s at a time when the need for open public spaces was just starting to be recognized.... (Ford Street entrance)	Hartford, Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...	May 1884		November 7, 1886	Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl was an American sculptor. He is best known for his Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio , and for the -long frieze on the Pension Building in Washington, D.C..-Biography:Born in Königsberg, Bohemia, Caspar Buberl (1834 –... and others
James A. Garfield Memorial James A. Garfield Memorial The James A. Garfield Memorial was built in memory of the 20th U.S. President, James A. Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881. The memorial is located at 12316 Euclid Avenue in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio...	Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...	Cleveland, Ohio	October 6, 1885		May 30, 1890	Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl was an American sculptor. He is best known for his Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio , and for the -long frieze on the Pension Building in Washington, D.C..-Biography:Born in Königsberg, Bohemia, Caspar Buberl (1834 –...
Soldiers and Sailors Monument	Oneida Square	Utica, New York Utica, New York Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....			October 13, 1891	Karl Gerhardt Karl Gerhardt Karl Gerhardt was a United States sculptor.-Biography:He attended Phillips School in Boston. By 1870 he was apprenticed to a house painter in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where he later became a machinist at Ames Foundry...
Major General John Sedgwick John Sedgwick John Sedgwick was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was the highest ranking Union casualty in the Civil War, killed by a sniper at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.-Early life:Sedgwick was born in the Litchfield Hills town of...  Memorial	Hautboy Hill Road	Cornwall, Connecticut Cornwall, Connecticut Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,434 at the 2000 census.In 1939 poet Mark Van Doren wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", a short poem in which the beauties of the countryside were portrayed as seductive:The town was also home to the Foreign...			May 3, 1900	James J. Hawley
Base of Lafayette Statue	Lafayette Circle, Capitol Avenue	Hartford, Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...	1931?

External links

• A brief biography of George Keller at the Bushnell Park Foundation's Web site Focus is on Keller's life and work in Hartford, Connecticut.
• Points of Interest in Lake View Cemetery