Thomas Church Brownell is a bronze statue of Trinity President Thomas Brownell designed by Chauncey B. Ives, and is located on the Main Quad.

The sculptor, Chauncey B. Ives, was a leading American neoclassical sculptor of the generation trained in Italy and active from the 1840s through the post Civil War era. Ives’ style was a blend of neoclassical and 19th century naturalism. The mix of these two styles is evident in his design of Brownell’s statue where commonplace America meets ancient tradition.

Shortly after Brownell’s death in 1865, his son-in-law Gordon Burnham gave the commission to Ives to create a memorial intended for Brownell’s grave in Cedar Hill cemetery in Hartford. Ives portrayed Brownell in a clerical gown with preaching tabs. His left hand holds a prayer book and his right arm is outstretched in the act of pronouncing a blessing.

In order to create his statue, Ives worked from a very lifelike signed and dated portrait bust of Brownell he had made from life in 1860 and which is today in the collection of the New York Historical Society.

Ives began work in Rome during 1866 and the 10 foot 6 inch high figure was transferred to the foundry of Ferdinand von Miller in Munich, Germany to be cast in bronze in 1868. The statue arrived in Hartford in 1868 but Burnham reconsidered its destination and decided to make a gift of the massive bronze to the Trustees of Trinity College. As no pedestal for the bronze had been made, its dedication was delayed until 1869 while the college had James G. Batterson, Esq., of Hartford carve the fifteen foot pedestal of Quincy granite at the very high price of $5,000.

Finally, on November 11, 1869, the statue was ceremoniously unveiled on the College Hill campus overlooking Bushnell Park where the State Capitol now stands. When the college moved to the Rocky Ridge Campus in 1878, the statue was re-erected on the main quadrangle, adjacent to the Long Walk.

Text taken from Thomas Church Brownell Public Art CT Trinity College Walking Tour