This article explores the life and work of John Cassidy, the Irish sculptor who created the statue of Edward Colston, a 17th-century slave trader, that was toppled in Bristol in 2020. It raises questions about Cassidy's possible views on British colonialism and the complexities behind his artistic choices.
John Cassidy’s gravestone, in the Catholic section of Manchester’s Southern Cemetery, makes no mention of his Irish origins. The toppled statue of 17th-century slave merchant Edward Colston on display in Bristol. The statue was the work of Meath-born sculptor John Cassidy.
Photograph: Polly Thomas/ Getty Images When the statue of slave trader and philanthropist Edward Colston was pulled down, defaced, and dumped in Bristol Harbour in 2020, few people spared a thought for its creator, the Meath-born sculptor John Cassidy. But in the latest issue of the Times Literary Supplement, Lucasta Miller expresses admiration for the artistry Cassidy invested in his work, undeserved as it may have been by the subject. She also wonders to what extent the statue – which like much of Cassidy’s output was influenced by Rodin, especially in this case The Thinker – reflected his own background: “As an Irishman he cannot, one suspects, have had a completely uncomplicated attitude to British colonialism. Was his image of a thoughtful Colston surreptitiously designed to make us think, or was it just another commission for a cash-strapped artist?”The answer seems to have been a bit of both. Born the son of a Slane farmer, on New Year’s Day 1860, Cassidy moved to Dublin in early adulthood for work, and after doing night classes in art, may or may not have travelled on scholarships to Milan or Paris. But he certainly studied at the Manchester School of Art from 1883, later taught there, and spent the rest of his life in that Lancashire city. It was from his new home, in 1899, he wrote a letter back to Dublin that may carry a hint of his attitude to British colonialism: “I have read with great interest of your intention to deservedly honour Wolfe Tone by the erection of a statue to his memory,” he told the commissioners in questio
JOHN CASSIDY ART SCULPTURE EDWARD COLSTON BRITISH COLONIALISM IRELAND ART HISTORY
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