Alexander Doyle (1857–1922) was an American sculptor. Doyle was born in

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Weirton–Steubenville m ...

, and spent his youth in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

(Kentucky) and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

(Missouri) before going to Italy to study sculpture in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, studying with Giovanni Duprè, Carlo Nicoli and Fernando Pelliccia. After returning to the United States he settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

: 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 A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

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 New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where he was active in 1882 and 1883, he created a trio of important sculptures of

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

. 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 A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

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 Margaret Haughery (1813–1882) was a philanthropist known as "the mother of the orphans". Margaret Gaffney Haughery (pronounced as HAWK -r- ee) was a beloved historical figure in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the 1880s. Widely known as "Our Marg ...

, 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 The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

’s

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

in Washington D.C.

Partial list of works

References

External links

Biography on Rootsweb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Alexander 1857 births 1922 deaths People from Steubenville, Ohio 20th-century American sculptors 19th-century American sculptors American male sculptors 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists