Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BISSELL, John
BISSELL, John. (Dubuque, IA, Apr. 19, 1938-- ). In 1960 Bissell studied at the Kansas City Art Institute earning a bachelor's degree of fine arts. He received a master's degree in art from the University of Iowa. (1) In 1968 Bissel returned to Dubuque after working for 3M and the National Advertising Company. He worked for the former FRANK HARDIE ADVERTISING INC.
Bissell produced thirty-two editions of lithographs with Fishy Whale Press, a lithography company in Rockford, Illinois. Bissell also created a considerable amount of art for the historical society which presented him an award for his efforts in 1980. He specialized in 19th and early 20th-century Dubuque scenes for his watercolors--all 11 inches by 15 inches because it made framing easier. (2) A full-time artist, he held an annual sale of his paintings each fall in the carriage house at his home. (3)
In November 1997, Bissell was featured on the cover of JULIEN'S JOURNAL. He held art shows at the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE in 1966, 1981, and 1996. Other exhibits have been held at the DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART and the Main Gallery.
Bissell's artistic talent is shared in the family. Fred Bissell taught art history at Harvard University from 1933 to 1937. In the 1930s, his mother Susan Adams BISSELL studied with Grant Wood at Stone City. Susie Bissell-Manfield, his sister operated a studio in Norwood, Colorado where she painted farm and animal scenes. Fred, Jr., his brother studied art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (4)
---
Source:
1. Voight, Sandye, "Art in Their Blood," Telegraph Herald, September 3, 2009, p. 14
2. Ibid.
3. "Dubuque Artist to Hold Sale," Telegraph Herald, June 15, 2006, p. 49
4. Voight