BAILLY, Joseph Alexis

Paris 1823 or 1825 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States 1883

Révérend Dr. John Witherspoon (1723-1794)

Reverend Dr. John Witherspoon (1723-1794)

1876

bronze

statue

Photo credit: ph. Wikimedia/Smallbones, 2012

© Artist : public domain

© Artist : public domain

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fairmount Park

Provenance

• 1876, Erected by members of the Presbyterian Church for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, dedicated July 4
• Moved at Horticultural Center, Fairmount Park, North side of the East end loop of the Horticulture Center

Bibliography

• Smithsonian Institution/SOS! website, August 18, 2015
• Association for Public Art website, August 18, 2015
• 1897 Monumental News
  Monumental News, Aug. 1897, pg 470
• 1974 Fairmount Park Art Association
  Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, p. 84
• 1985 University of Delaware
  Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985
• 1989 National Park Service
  National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, PA5105, 1989
• 1994 SOS!
  Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia survey, 1994

Comment

• Association for Public Art website, http://associationforpublicart.org/interactive-art-map/reverend-dr-john-witherspoon, August 18, 2015:
  Scottish born Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon (1723-1794), the only active clergyman in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence and was an early President of Princeton University. This bronze and granite memorial was erected by members of the Presbyterian Church for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition.
  The artist Bailly fled France in 1848 when he was conscripted into the army against his will. He settled in Philadelphia in 1850, and taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Trained as a furniture wood carver with studies at the French Institute, he also sculpted the marble George Washington in Philadelphia City Hall’s Conversation Hall.

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