James E. Kelly (artist)
James Edward Kelly (July 30, 1855 – May 25, 1933) was an American sculptor and illustrator who specialized in depicting people and events of American wars, particularly the American Civil War.
James E. Kelly | |
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Born | |
Died | May 25, 1933 77) | (aged
Nationality | American |
Known for | Sculptor, Illustrator |
Notable work | General Buford Memorial Washington in Prayer Caesar Rodney |
Biography
Born in New York City, he was six years old when the Civil War started. Perhaps because of that he early developed a lifelong interest in American history, particularly in the Civil War and in the generals who fought it. His intense studies into history allowed Kelly to bring to his work a degree of detail that makes his drawings and statues noteworthy.
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He studied at the National Academy of Design, and was one of the founders of the Art Students League of New York. He worked as a wood engraver, as an illustrator for Harper's Monthly and other magazines, and for a time shared a studio with artist Edwin Austin Abbey.[1]
In 1882 Kelly was commissioned by Oscar Wilde and his touring manager to make a sketch and bas-relief of Wilde for use in promoting Wilde's lecture tour of North America.[2]
Kelly, Daniel Chester French, and Cyrus Edwin Dallin were the finalists in an 1883 national design competition to model an equestrian statue of Paul Revere for Boston, Massachusetts.[3] Dallin won the competition and the commission.
Kelly's first major commission was for the 1884 Monmouth Battle Monument – five bronze relief panels depicting scenes from the battle. He had a difficult time finding models who did not have mustaches or beards – then being worn by most men of that era – so he prevailed upon a friend from nearby Menlo Park, New Jersey, to pose for him. Because of that, a portrait of the 30-year-old Thomas Alva Edison can be found on the monument as Molly Pitcher's wounded husband.[4]
Kelly was also known for his extremely detailed and accurate engravings on historical subjects, often commissioned by magazines. He was a careful researcher, interviewing the soldiers present at the Civil War battles he depicted, and exacting about getting the details right in his works. Late in life, he hoped to publish a book of his interviews with generals and other Civil War soldiers, but there was little interest.
He married Helen McKay (1871-1929), but no children survived them. He died in New York City, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Saint Raymond's Cemetery.
Historian William B. Styple edited Kelly's sometimes-provocative military interviews into a 2005 book, Generals in Bronze. Styple also raised funds to buy a headstone for Kelly's grave. On October 1, 2006, a black granite monument with Kelly's image carved into it and the words, "A Sculptor of American History" was placed over the artist's previously unmarked grave.[5]
Selected works
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- Statuette of Sheridan's Ride, 1879.
- Statuette of Paul Revere's Ride, 1883.
- Five relief panels, Monmouth Battle Monument, Freehold, New Jersey, 1884:[6]
- Ramsey Defending His Guns
- Washington Rallying the Troops
- Molly Pitcher
- Wayne's Charge
- Council of War at Hopewell, June 24, 1778
- 6th New York Cavalry Monument, Gettysburg Battlefield, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1889.
- Relief panel of General Fitzhugh's Charge
- Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Troy, New York, 1890.
- The Call to Arms, a 17-foot (5.2 m) bronze figure of a goddess grasping a sword and a trumpet, stands atop the granite column.
- Caspar Buberl modeled the four relief panels: Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry, The Monitor and the Merrimac
- Civil War Soldiers & Sailors Monument, Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, Yonkers, New York, 1891.
- Kelly designed three of the four bronze figures: Cavalryman, Infantryman, Artilleryman.
- Washington Irving Chambers designed the Sailor figure, and Lorado Taft carved the granite soldier atop the monument.
- General John Buford Memorial, Gettysburg Battlefield, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1895.
- Medallion of Battle of Long Island, before 1896.
- General Horatio G. Wright Monument. Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, c. 1899.
- Commander Edward M. Hughes Memorial Tablet, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, after 1903.
- Relief panel of General George Washington in Prayer at Valley Forge, Federal Hall National Memorial, New York City, 1904.
- Equestrian statue of General Fitz-John Porter, Haven Park, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1904.
- Dedication plaque and 3 relief panels: Capture of Mexico City, Charging Malvern Hill, Balloon Reconnoitering.
- William McKinley Memorial, Park Drive & West Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 1906.[7]
- Bust of Major General James H. Wilson, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1909.
- Memorial to the Defenders of New Haven, Defenders' Park, New Haven, Connecticut, 1911.[8]
- Rochambeau Monument, Marion Avenue, Southington, Connecticut, 1912.
- Barbara Fritchie Monument, Mount Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, Maryland, 1914.[9]
- Equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney, Rodney Square, Wilmington, Delaware, 1922.
- A statuette of Caesar Rodney and paintings by Kelly are at the Delaware Art Museum.
- Bust of General Oliver Otis Howard, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
- Sheridan's Ride (1879).
- Council of War at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. (1880s).
- 6th New York Cavalry Monument (1889), Gettysburg Battlefield.
- Soldiers & Sailors Monument (1890), Troy, New York.
- Civil War Soldiers & Sailors Monument (1891), Yonkers, New York.
- General Horatio G. Wright Monument (c. 1899), Arlington National Cemetery.
- Washington in Prayer at Valley Forge (1904), Federal Hall National Memorial, New York City.
- General Fitz-John Porter (1904), Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- Balloon Reconnoitering. Relief panel on base of Porter statue.
- Caesar Rodney (1922), Wilmington, Delaware.
- Etching Oscar Wilde and a child.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Edward Kelly. |
- Leach, p. 446.
- Cooper, John. "The Kelly Sketch". Oscar Wilde in America. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- George Wharton James, Utah: The Land of Blossoming Valleys (Boston: The Page Company, 1922), p. 303.
- Leach, p. 450.
- William B. Styple at Kelly's grave from Mail & Media Inc.
- Monmouth Battle Monument Archived 2013-02-21 at Archive.today from Richard Stockton College.
- McKinley Memorial from Flickr.
- Defenders' Monument from CT Monuments.
- Barbara Fritchie grave from DC Memorials.
Sources
- Hawthorne, Frederick W. Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments. Gettysburg, PA: Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, 1988. ISBN 0-9657444-0-X.
- Leach, Anna "A Sculptor of American History," Munsey's Magazine, vol. 14, no. 4 (January 1896), pp. 446–52.
- Opitz, Glenn B., ed. Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers. Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo Books, 1986. ISBN 978-0-938290-04-9.
- Styple, William B. Generals in Bronze: Interviewing the Commanders of the Civil War. Kearny, NJ: Belle Grove Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-883926-18-1.
- Whittemore, Francis Davis. George Washington in Sculpture. Boston: Marshall Jones Co., 1933. OCLC 895551.
External links
- James Edward Kelly from SIRIS
- James E. Kelly at Find a Grave
- C-SPAN Book TV program about Kelly A 2005 interview with historian William Styple at the New York Historical Society, 57 minutes