Paul Fjelde (August 12, 1892 – May 3, 1984) was a noted American sculptor and educator.
/ref>

Background

Paul Fjelde was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He was the son of

Jacob Fjelde Jakob Henrik Gerhard Fjelde (10 April 1859 – 5 May 1896) was a Norwegian-born American sculptor.Harris, Moira F., ''Monumental Minnesota: A Guide to Outdoor Sculpture'', Pogo Press, 1992, pg. 6 He is remembered as both a prolific portraitis ...

, who was a well-known sculptor in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

when he emigrated to the United States in 1887. After Jacob’s untimely death at age 36, the Fjelde family moved to

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

in 1902. Margarethe Fjelde homesteaded with her four children in Burleigh County, North Dakota. Fjelde studied art in

Valley City, North Dakota Valley City is a city in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Barnes County. The population was 6,575 during the 2020 census, making it the 12th largest city in North Dakota. Valley City was founded in 1874. Val ...

at the State Normal School, now the

Valley City State University Valley City State University (VCSU) is a public university in Valley City, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. Founded in 1890 as Valley City State Normal School, a two-year teachers' college, it was authorized to confe ...

. He subsequently went to study under Chicago based sculptor

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for decad ...

. He went on to study at the

Minneapolis School of Art The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) is a private college specializing in the visual arts and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MCAD currently enrolls approximately 800 students. MCAD is one of just a few major art schools to offer ...

Beaux-Arts Institute of Design The Beaux-Arts Institute of Design (BAID, later the National Institute for Architectural Education) was an art and architectural school at 304 East 44th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, in New York City.Opitz, Glenn B, Editor, ''Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers'', Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie NY, 1986 p 284 and the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

, at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

, and at the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acadé ...

in Paris. After his retirement from Pratt Institute, Paul relocated to his summer place in Orleans, Massachusetts where he continued his work for several years. He died in Brewster, Massachusetts on May 3, 1984.

Career

Fjelde taught at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

and was a professor emeritus from that institution. Fjelde served as chairman of the Sculpture Department at the

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. He was an instructor of sculpture at the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts. He was editor of '' Sculpture Review'' between 1951 and 1955. Among Fjelde’s most commonly recognized sculptural works is the Lincoln Monument in

Frogner Park Frogner Park ( no, Frognerparken) is a public park located in the West End borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway. The park is historically part of Frogner Manor, and the manor house is located in the south of the park, and houses Oslo Museum. Both ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. His father's brother, Herman Olaus Fjelde (1866–1918), was chairman of the committee for the Lincoln Monument. On July 4, 1914, North Dakota Governor Louis Hanna presented the bronze bust of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

to the nation of

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the bust in Frogner Park became a center for silent protest against

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

. Every July 4 during the occupation, Norwegians gathered by the Lincoln bust in Frogner Park in silent protest at the affront to freedom the Nazis represented to the people of Norway. Fjelde’s bust is still prominent in the July 4 celebration that continues each year in Frogner Park. Other noteworthy works include the statue of Col. Hans C. Heg, leader of the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, the

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

Memorial in the

Indiana Statehouse The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. It houses the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, and other state officials. The Statehouse is located in ...

, the bronze plaque of Wendell Willkie in the Summit County Courthouse, Akron, Ohio, the bronze portrait of Orville Wright in the

Hall of Fame for Great Americans The Hall of Fame for Great Americans is an outdoor sculpture gallery located on the grounds of Bronx Community College (BCC) in the Bronx, New York City. It is the first such hall of fame in the United States. Built in 1901 as part of the U ...

, the John Scott Bradstreet tablet at the

Minneapolis Institute of Arts The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

, and the Pioneers Memorial in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

. Fjelde received awards from the American-Scandinavian Foundation, Allied Artists of America, and the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...

. His works were exhibited at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, 1913–1919 and the

Norse-American Centennial The Norse-American Centennial celebration was held at the Minnesota State Fair on June 6–9, 1925. Description The event served to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival during 1825 of the Norwegian immigrant ship '' Restauration''. T ...

Art Exhibition at the

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state fa ...

in 1925. He was also among the exhibitors at the Society of Scandinavian-American Artists exhibition held at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

in 1932. His works were shown at the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

, 1935–36 and 1940.''Norwegian-American Artists’ Exhibits Described in Checklists and Catalogs'' (by Rolf H. Erickson. Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 31, page 283 Northfield, MN: 1986

/ref> Fjelde served as the editor of the Sculpture Review, National Sculpture Review from 1951 to 1955. In 1949 he was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1957.

Gallery

File:Hans C Heg.jpg, Col.

Hans Christian Heg Hans Christian Heg (December 21, 1829September 20, 1863) was a Norwegian American abolitionist, journalist, anti-slavery activist, politician and soldier, best known for leading the Scandinavian 15th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment on the Union s ...

statue at Wisconsin State Capitol - Madison, WI. 1925 File:Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture8.jpg, Nymph sculpture at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina. 1932 File:Wright Bros Hall of Fame.jpg, Orville Wright statue at the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, New York City, 1965 File:Westinghouse Memorial—Niagara.jpg, ''Niagara'', Westinghouse Memorial (1930), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania File:Westinghouse Memorial—Air Brake.jpg, ''Air Brake'', Westinghouse Memorial (1930), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania File:Westinghouse Memorial—Electric Main Line.jpg, ''Electric Main Line'', Westinghouse Memorial (1930), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania File:Westinghouse Memorial—Chicago Exposition.jpg, ''Chicago Exposition'', Westinghouse Memorial (1930), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania File:Westinghouse Memorial—Modern Signaling Systems.jpg, ''Modern Signaling Systems'', Westinghouse Memorial (1930), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania File:Westinghouse Memorial—Steam Turbines.jpg, ''Steam Turbines'', Westinghouse Memorial (1930), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

References

Other sources

*Sundby-Hanson, Harry ''Norwegian Immigrant Contributions to America’s Making'' (International Press, New York: 1921) *Fjelde, Paul ''The Sculpture of Paul Fjelde'' (National Sculpture Review. Fall, 1969)

External links

Lincoln Monument, Frogner Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjelde, Paul 1892 births 1984 deaths Artists from Minneapolis Art Students League of New York alumni American people of Norwegian descent Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Valley City State University alumni Pratt Institute faculty People from Burleigh County, North Dakota Artists from North Dakota 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from New York (state) Sculptors from Minnesota Beaux-Arts Institute of Design (New York City) alumni