Alexander Doyle

Doyle's Confederate Soldier; in background Doyle's equestrian statue of General Albert Sidney Johnston (1877), Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans. Alexander Doyle (1857–1922) was an American sculptor.

Doyle was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and spent his youth in Louisville, Kentucky, and St. Louis, Missouri, before going to Italy to study sculpture in Bergamo, Rome, and Florence, studying with Giovanni Duprè, Carlo Nicoli and Fernando Pelliccia.

After returning to the United States he settled in New York City and became one of the most prominent sculptors of the era. There are three statues by Doyle in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.: Thomas Hart Benton (Thomas Hart Benton), Francis Preston Blair Jr. (Francis Preston Blair Jr.) and John E. Kenna (John E. Kenna).

Doyle became a sculptor of marble and bronze monuments of historical figures including Civil War participants and other prominent persons. He studied in Italy at the National Academies at Carrara, Rome, and Florence and was a member of the Royal Raphael Academy. His work can be found throughout the United States including in Washington, D.C., Missouri, Alabama, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, and Mississippi.

In New Orleans, where he was active in 1882 and 1883, he created a trio of important sculptures of Confederate States Army generals. These are: the city's iconic figure of General Robert E. Lee at Lee Circle, dedicated in 1884 and removed by Mayor Mitch Landrieu on May 19, 2017; the massive bronze General Beauregard Equestrian Statue at the entrance to City Park (1915), removed on May 16 of 2017 and placed in a city junk yard; and the bronze statue of General Albert Sydney Johnston atop the Army of the Tennessee cenotaph in Metairie Cemetery (1887). According to Leonard V. Huber, author of New Orleans Architecture: The Cemeteries, Doyle's finest work is "Calling the Roll" (1885), a marble sculpture of an unknown Confederate soldier. "Calling the Roll" stands before the General Johnston bronze monument in Metairie Cemetery.

A Doyle marble statue of Margaret Haughery, a New Orleans woman who devoted her life to the poor, was erected in 1889, the first monument to honor a female philanthropist in the United States.

The "Alexander Doyle Papers, 1852-1937" are located in the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art in Washington D.C.

Partial list of works Title Year Location/GPS Coordinates Material Dimensions Notes Image Washington Artillery Memorial Cenotaph 1880 Metairie Cemetery,New Orleans Granite Sculpture: approx. H. 8 ft.; Base: approx. 20 × 20 × 20 ft 120px Francis Scott Key Grave and Monument 1881 Mount Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, Maryland Bronze sculpture on stone base Sculpture: approx. 15 ft. × 80 in. × 80 in.; Base: approx. 10 ft. × 80 in. × 80 in. 120px William Pinkney Funerary Monument c. 1883 Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Marble Commissioned by William Wilson Corcoran. 120px Margaret Haughery Memorial, "The Bread Giver" 1884 New Orleans, Louisiana Marble on granite base Sculpture: approx. H. 5 ft.; Base: approx. H. 7 ft Made for the Citizens' Committee of New Orleans. 100px Robert E. Lee Monument 1884 Lee Circle, New Orleans Bronze sculpture on granite column Sculpture: approx. H. 16 ft.; Column: approx. 90 ft. Removed in May 2017. 100px John Howard Payne Funerary Monument Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Marble Commissioned by William Wilson Corcoran. 120px Statue of Benjamin Harvey Hill 1885 Georgia Capitol Museum, Atlanta Marble 161 × 53 × 53 in"Portrait of Benjamin Harvey Hill standing with his right hand resting on a podium and his left hand pulling back the side of his overcoat, and resting on his left hip." 120px Calling the Roll 1886 Metairie Cemetery,New Orleans Marble Sculpture: approx. 6 × 3 × 3 ft.; Base: approx. 3 × 3 × 3 ft. Adjacent to the mausoleum set up by Association Army of Tennessee, Louisiana Division, C.S.A with Doyle's Equestrian Statue of General Albert Sidney Johnston. The sculpture was a gift of Charles T. Howard. The sculpture depicts a Confederate soldier calling role; the soldier's face was carved based on the photography of New Orleans Confederate Soldier William Brunet. 120px General Philip Schuyler, Saratoga Battle Monument 1886 Saratoga National Historical Park (Victory, New York) Bronze approximately 7 feet Image of sculpture General James B. Steedman Monument 1887 Riverside Park (Toledo, Ohio) Bronze sculpture on a Vermont marble base on a second concrete base. Figure: approx. H. 10 ft. × W. 3 ft.; Base: approx. 20 × 9 × 9 ft.; Concrete base: approx. H. 4 ft. × Diam. 35 ft. (2,200 lbs.). Image of sculpture General Albert Sidney Johnston Equestrian Statue 1887 Metairie Cemetery,New Orleans Bronze on granite base Sculpture: approx. 10 × 3 × 8 ft.; Base: approx. 30 in. × 3 ft. × 8 ft. Erected by the Association Army of Tennessee, Louisiana Division, C.S.A. Louisiana's General P.G.T. Beauregard is entombed there. 120px Volunteer Firemen's Monument 1887 Greenwood Cemetery (New Orleans, Louisiana) White Carrara marble sculpture on Hallowell Maine granite base Sculpture: approx. 6 × 2 × 2 ft.; Base: approx. 46 × 18 × 18 ft. 100px William Jasper Monument 1888 Savannah, Georgia Bronze sculpture and plaques on granite base 15 feet 6 inches 100px National Monument to the Forefathers 1889 Plymouth, Massachusetts Marble on granite base with marble reliefs Sculpture: approx. H. 36 ft. (180 tons); Base: approx. H. 45 ft Commissioned by the Pilgrim Society. 100px James A. Garfield Memorial 1890 Lakeview Cemetery (Cleveland, Ohio) Sculpture: Carrara marble on granite base 12 feet 120px Horace Greeley Memorial 1890 Greeley Square (New York, New York) Bronze sculpture on Quincy granite base Sculpture: H. 7 ft.; Pedestal: H. 8 ft. 120px Bison Fountain 1891 Iowa State Capitol (Des Moines, Iowa) Bronze and granite sculpture on granite tile base Image of sculpture Henry W. Grady statue 1892 Henry Grady Square (Atlanta, Georgia) Bronze sculpture on Georgia granite base 100px Thomas H. Benton 1895–1897 National Statuary Hall, United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) Marble H. 7 ft. 7 in.Gift of the State of Missouri. 100px Francis P. Blair Jr. 1895–1897 National Statuary Hall, United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) Marble H. 7 ft. 6 in. 100px John E. Kenna 1897–1901 National Statuary Hall, United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) Marble H. 7 ft. 9 in. 100px Alabama Confederate Monument 1898 Alabama State Capitol (Montgomery, Alabama) Russellville limestone, granite, and bronze sculpture on Russellville limestone base Sculpture: approx. 80 × 35 × 35 ft.; Base: approx. 5 × 40 × 40 ft. 100px Iowa State Capitol Relief 1898 Iowa State Capitol (Des Moines, Iowa) Bronze sculpture on granite base Sculpture: approx. 5 ft. 4 in. × 6 ft. 5 in. × 6 in.; Base: approx. 9 ft. × 26 ft. × 30 ft. 2 in."A uniformed nineteenth century-era soldier stands at the center of the relief, holding a flagpole in his bent proper right arm and a rifle in his proper right hand. An eagle overhead bears a banner in its mouth on which is written the State motto. The decorative scrolling includes corn and wheat stalks." 1902 Vigo County Courthouse (Terre Haute, Indiana) Bronze sculpture on Indiana limestone base Sculpture: approx. 2 ft. × 36 in. × 20 in.; Base: approx. 7 ft. × 55 in × 44 in. Image of sculpture General Beauregard Equestrian Statue 1915 City Park (New Orleans, Louisiana) Bronze sculpture on Stone Mountain granite base 20 feetRemoved and placed in city storage yard May 2017. 120px General Charles G. Halpine portrait Bronze sculpture on granite pedestal Commissioned by the Grand Army of the Republic, Dahlgren Post, New York. James L. Ridgely sculpture Bronze Commissioned by the Sovereign Grand Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Baltimore, Maryland. Aretas Blood mausoleum Valley Cemetery, Manchester, New Hampshire Granite Image of mausoleum Cross for Charles W. Gould tomb Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York Marble Austin Flint bas-relief portrait Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, New York Bronze