Joseph A. Bailly
Encyclopedia
Joseph Alexis Bailly was a French-born American
sculptor who spent most of his career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. He taught briefly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
, which has a collection of his sculpture. His most famous work is the statue of George Washington
in front of Independence Hall.
before being drafted into the Army during the Revolution of 1848
. He assaulted an officer, deserted, and fled to England where he studied briefly under the sculptor Edward Hodges Baily
(a relation?). After traveling to the United States and Argentina, he settled in Philadelphia in 1850.
Bailly worked as a furniture carver before establishing a sculpture studio with Charles Buschor in 1854. Their first major commission was for the interior ornament and furniture of the New Masonic Hall at 713-21 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia (1855, burned 1886). This included 5 life-sized wood statues illustrating the female Masonic virtues. (The statues and furniture were moved to the current Philadelphia Masonic Temple
at Broad & Filbert Streets, when it opened in 1873.) That was followed by the commission for the interior ornament of Philadelphia's opera house, the Academy of Music
(1855–57).
At the U.S. Capitol, Bailly designed the Monumental Clock for the United States House of Representatives
Chamber (1858) and carved its wooden case. Sculptor William Henry Rinehart
designed the flanking bronze figures of the Backwoodsman and the Indian. Furniture makers Bembe & Kimbel manufactured the clock, and gilded the whole piece. It was removed from the House Chamber in 1950, and is now on display in the Capitol's Crypt.
One of his most accomplished works is the marble sculpture group Paradise Lost (1863–68), depicting Adam and Eve ruminating on their expulsion from the Garden of Eden
. Its companion piece, First Prayer (1864–68), shows Eve with their small children Cain and Abel. Both works are at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
.
His giant bronze of Benjamin Franklin (1868) was installed on the corner of the Public Ledger Building
's facade and, 250 feet away, his marble statue of George Washington (1869) stood before Independence Hall. Bailly carved a number of funerary memorials, including that of the artist William Emlen Cresson (1869), at Laurel Hill Cemetery
, which showed the young painter holding his brush and palette (now missing).
In the 1870s, the United States Mint
in Philadelphia commissioned him to carve coin dies
for U.S. Trade Dollars
— coins with a higher silver content than regular U.S. silver dollars for use in international trade, especially with China, Japan and Korea. The surviving coin dies are unsigned, but design and/or carving of at least three of them are attributed to Bailly.
He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
beginning in 1851, was elected an Academician
by PAFA in 1860, and taught there during the American Civil War
. Hired to teach at PAFA in 1876, he resigned two years later in a salary dispute, and Thomas Eakins
took over his modeling class.
Among his students were Howard Roberts
, John J. Boyle
, and Alexander Milne Calder
(whose submission for the colossal statue of William Penn
atop Philadelphia City Hall
was selected over Bailly's). He exhibited several works at the 1876 Centennial Exposition, including the plaster model for an equestrian statue of Venezuela's president, Antonio Guzmán Blanco
.
Bailly died in Philadelphia in 1883.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor who spent most of his career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He taught briefly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
, which has a collection of his sculpture. His most famous work is the statue of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
in front of Independence Hall.
Biography
The son of a Parisian cabinetmaker, Bailly attended the Ecole des Beaux-ArtsÉcole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
before being drafted into the Army during the Revolution of 1848
French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...
. He assaulted an officer, deserted, and fled to England where he studied briefly under the sculptor Edward Hodges Baily
Edward Hodges Baily
Edward Hodges Baily RA FRS - was an English sculptor who was born in Downend in Bristol.-Life:...
(a relation?). After traveling to the United States and Argentina, he settled in Philadelphia in 1850.
Bailly worked as a furniture carver before establishing a sculpture studio with Charles Buschor in 1854. Their first major commission was for the interior ornament and furniture of the New Masonic Hall at 713-21 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia (1855, burned 1886). This included 5 life-sized wood statues illustrating the female Masonic virtues. (The statues and furniture were moved to the current Philadelphia Masonic Temple
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
at Broad & Filbert Streets, when it opened in 1873.) That was followed by the commission for the interior ornament of Philadelphia's opera house, the Academy of Music
Academy of Music (Philadelphia)
The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
(1855–57).
At the U.S. Capitol, Bailly designed the Monumental Clock for the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Chamber (1858) and carved its wooden case. Sculptor William Henry Rinehart
William Henry Rinehart
William Henry Rinehart was a noted American sculptor. He is considered "the last important American sculptor to work in the classical style."-Biography:...
designed the flanking bronze figures of the Backwoodsman and the Indian. Furniture makers Bembe & Kimbel manufactured the clock, and gilded the whole piece. It was removed from the House Chamber in 1950, and is now on display in the Capitol's Crypt.
One of his most accomplished works is the marble sculpture group Paradise Lost (1863–68), depicting Adam and Eve ruminating on their expulsion from the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. Its companion piece, First Prayer (1864–68), shows Eve with their small children Cain and Abel. Both works are at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
.
His giant bronze of Benjamin Franklin (1868) was installed on the corner of the Public Ledger Building
Public Ledger (Philadelphia)
The Public Ledger was a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania published from March 25, 1836 to January 1942. Its motto was "Virtue Liberty and Independence". For a time, it was Philadelphia's most popular newspaper, but circulation declined in the mid-1930s.-Early history:Founded by William...
's facade and, 250 feet away, his marble statue of George Washington (1869) stood before Independence Hall. Bailly carved a number of funerary memorials, including that of the artist William Emlen Cresson (1869), at Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the second major garden or rural cemetery in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, one of only a few cemeteries to receive the distinction....
, which showed the young painter holding his brush and palette (now missing).
In the 1870s, the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
in Philadelphia commissioned him to carve coin dies
Coining (mint)
In minting, coining is the process of manufacturing coins using a kind of stamping which is now generically known in metalworking as "coining".A coin die is one of the two metallic pieces that are used to strike one side of a coin...
for U.S. Trade Dollars
Trade Dollar (United States coin)
The trade dollar was a United States dollar coin minted to compete with other large silver coins that were already popular in East Asia. The idea first came about in the 1860s, when the price of silver began to decline due to increased mining efforts in the western United States...
— coins with a higher silver content than regular U.S. silver dollars for use in international trade, especially with China, Japan and Korea. The surviving coin dies are unsigned, but design and/or carving of at least three of them are attributed to Bailly.
He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
beginning in 1851, was elected an Academician
Academician
The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
by PAFA in 1860, and taught there during the American 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...
. Hired to teach at PAFA in 1876, he resigned two years later in a salary dispute, and Thomas Eakins
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
took over his modeling class.
Among his students were Howard Roberts
Howard Roberts (sculptor)
Howard Roberts was an American sculptor based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, he was "considered the most accomplished American sculptor." But his output was small, his reputation was soon surpassed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and others, and he is now...
, John J. Boyle
John Boyle (sculptor)
John J. Boyle was an American sculptor.He studied at the Franklin Institute, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and École des Beaux-Arts.He married Elizabeth Carroll, in Philadelphia, in 1882....
, and Alexander Milne Calder
Alexander Milne Calder
Alexander Milne Calder was an American sculptor best known for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall. Both his son, Alexander Stirling Calder, and grandson, Alexander "Sandy" Calder, were to become significant sculptors in the 20th century.-Biography:Alexander Milne Calder was...
(whose submission for the colossal statue of William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
atop Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...
was selected over Bailly's). He exhibited several works at the 1876 Centennial Exposition, including the plaster model for an equestrian statue of Venezuela's president, Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco was President of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870–1877, from 1879–1884, and from 1886–1887....
.
Bailly died in Philadelphia in 1883.
Selected works
- Sideboard, with carving attributed to Bailly (c. 1855), Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of ArtThe Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
, Cleveland, OH. - New Masonic Hall, interior ornament and furniture (1855, burned 1886), Philadelphia, PA, (with Charles Buschor). The Gothic Room furniture survives at the current Philadelphia Masonic TempleGrand Lodge of PennsylvaniaThe Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
. - Beauty, Wisdom, Faith, Hope, Charity (1855), wood, Philadelphia Masonic TempleGrand Lodge of PennsylvaniaThe Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
. - Academy of MusicAcademy of Music (Philadelphia)The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
, interior ornament (1855–57), Philadelphia, PA, (with Charles Buschor). - U.S. Capitol, Monumental Clock, House of Representatives Chamber (1858), Washington, DC, (with William Henry RinehartWilliam Henry RinehartWilliam Henry Rinehart was a noted American sculptor. He is considered "the last important American sculptor to work in the classical style."-Biography:...
). - Paradise Lost (1863–68), marble, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsPennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsThe Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
, Philadelphia, PA. - First Prayer (1864–68), marble, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsPennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsThe Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
, Philadelphia, PA. - Bust of Abraham Lincoln (1865), metal alloy, mass-produced after his assassination.
- Benjamin Franklin (1868), bronze, Public Ledger BuildingPublic Ledger (Philadelphia)The Public Ledger was a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania published from March 25, 1836 to January 1942. Its motto was "Virtue Liberty and Independence". For a time, it was Philadelphia's most popular newspaper, but circulation declined in the mid-1930s.-Early history:Founded by William...
facade, Philadelphia, PA. Now on display in the current Public Ledger Building's lobby. - General Francis E. Patterson Memorial (c. 1868), marble, Laurel Hill CemeteryLaurel Hill CemeteryLaurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the second major garden or rural cemetery in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, one of only a few cemeteries to receive the distinction....
, Philadelphia, PA. - George Washington (1869), marble, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA. This was replaced by a bronze replica in 1910; the marble original is on display at Philadelphia City HallPhiladelphia City HallPhiladelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...
. - William Emlen Cresson Memorial (1869), bronze, Laurel Hill CemeteryLaurel Hill CemeteryLaurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the second major garden or rural cemetery in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, one of only a few cemeteries to receive the distinction....
, Philadelphia, PA. - William F. Hughes Memorial (1870), bronze, Laurel Hill CemeteryLaurel Hill CemeteryLaurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the second major garden or rural cemetery in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, one of only a few cemeteries to receive the distinction....
, Philadelphia, PA. - General John A. Rawlins (1872–74), bronze, Rawlins Park, 18th & E Streets NW, Washington, DC.
- Equestrian statue of President Antonio Guzmán Blanco (1875–79), bronze, installed in Caracas, Venezuela in 1880.
- Reverend John Witherspoon (1876), bronze, West Fairmount ParkFairmount ParkFairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
, Philadelphia, PA. - Bust of Benjamin Hallowell (c. 1877), plaster, Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art MuseumThe Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
, Washington, DC.
External links
- June 18, 1883, New York Times obituary
- U.S. Trade Dollar coins attributed to Bailly
- Joseph Alexis Bailly from Philadelphia Public Art.