Sigvald Asbjørnsen (August 20, 1867 – September 8, 1954) was a Norwegian-born American sculptor.

Background

Sigvald Asbjørnsen was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. Asbjørnsen studied art with

Mathias Skeibrok Mathias, a given name and a surname which is a variant of Matthew (name), may refer to: Places * Mathias, West Virginia * Mathias Township, Michigan People with the given name or surname ''Mathias'' In music * Mathias Eick, Norwegian Jazz Musici ...

(1851–1896) and

Julius Middelthun Julius Olavus Middelthun (3 July 1820 – 5 May 1886) was a Norwegian sculptor and educator. He is most associated with his busts and statues. Biography Middelthun was born at Kongsberg in Buskerud, Norway. He was the son of Georg Middelthun (17 ...

and under

Brynjulf Bergslien Brynjulf Larsen Bergslien (12 November 1830 – 19 September 1898) was a noted Norwegian sculptor. Background Bergslien was born in Voss in Hordaland county, Norway. He was a son of Lars Bergeson Bergslien and Kirsten Knutsdotter Gjelle. He was ...

. At the age of 16 he was awarded a stipend from

King Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

to study at the Royal Academy in Oslo where he worked for five years.

Career

Sigvald Asbjørnsen emigrated to the United States in 1892, first working in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

where he received several important commissions for sculpture. He eventually moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

where he worked on the buildings for the World Columbian Exposition of 1893. The remainder of his professional career was spent in Chicago where he sculpted a number of public works which were sent to various localities in the United States. He also made medallions of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson,

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

and Edvard Grieg among others. Asbjørnsen exhibited sculptures 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 ...

between 1897 and 1921. He received the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1952 from Norway’s King Haakon VII. Asbjørnsen died at his son's home in Chicago in 1954. A collection of his work is at the

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa is the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, with over 33,000 artifacts, 12 historic buildings, and a library and archives. This treasure showcases one of the most extensive co ...

in Decorah, Iowa. His sculptural work was shown at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

exhibit "The Divided Heart: Scandinavian Immigrant Artists, 1850–1950" in 1982.''Sigvald Asbjørnsen ''(Luther College Fine Arts Collection)
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Selected works

*''Benjamin Franklin'',

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, Chicago, Illinois, 1895–96. *''Illinois State Monument'', Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1898–99. * Statue of Leif Erikson, Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1901. *''War'', and ''Soldier'' (corner figure), General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument,

President's Park President's Park, located in Downtown Washington, D.C., encompasses the White House and includes the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Treasury Building, and grounds; the White House Visitor Center; Lafayette Square; and The Ellipse. Pr ...

, Washington, D.C., ca. 1901–02. Asbjørnsen created the figure of ''War'', and completed one of Carl Rohl-Smith's four soldier figures. *''Pennsylvania State Monument'',

Andersonville National Historic Site Andersonville may refer to: Places United States * Andersonville, Georgia, site of an American Civil War prisoner of war camp ** Andersonville National Historic Site, Confederate prisoner of war camp in Georgia holding Union soldiers *Andersonvi ...

, Andersonville, Georgia, 1902–05. *'' Louis Joliet'',

Joliet Public Library The Joliet Public Library (JPL) is the public library system serving the city of Joliet, Illinois. The Joliet Public Library was founded on March 7, 1876 with 750 donated books and Charlotte Akin was the first librarian. Today the majority of the ...

, Joliet, Illinois, 1903–04. *''Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Monument'', North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, 1904. *''Macon County Soldiers' Monument'', Central Park, Decatur, Illinois, 1904–05. *'' John R. Monaghan Monument'', Riverside Avenue & Monroe Street,

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, 1906. *''Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument'', Jefferson County Courthouse, Madison, Indiana, 1907–08. *''Whitehead Memorial Fountain'' (''R.D. Whitehead Memorial''), Bow Street & Chavez Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1910. A granite watering trough adorned with a bronze bas-relief of a horse. *''Wilbur Fisk Sanders'', Montana State Capitol, Helena, Montana, 1911–13. *'' Edvard Grieg Memorial'', Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, 1914. *''Relief bust of

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

'',

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...

, San Francisco, California, ca. 1914–20. *''Augustus Pollack Monument'', Ohio County Courthouse, Wheeling, West Virginia, 1916. *''Bust of Benjamin Franklin''. *''Bust of Theodore Roosevelt''. File:Ben Franklin Lincoln Park.JPG, ''Benjamin Franklin'' (1895–96),

, Chicago, Illinois. File:"War", W. face of Wm. T. Sherman Memorial.jpg, ''War'' (ca. 1901–02), Sherman Monument, Washington, DC. File:Spokane Club.JPG, ''Monaghan Monument'' (1906), Spokane, Washington. Spokane Club is in the background. File:Roald Amundsen by Asbjornsen - A.jpg, Roald Amundsen Memorial,

, San Francisco.

References

Other sources

*Strand, A.E. (1905) ''A History of the Norwegians in Illinois'' (Chicago, IL: John Anderson Publishing Co.) *Sundby-Hansen, Harry (1921) ''Norwegian Immigrant Contributions to America’s Making'' (New York, NY: International Press) * Haugan, Reidar Rye (1933) ''Prominent Artists and Exhibits of Their Work in Chicago'' (Chicago Norske Klub. Nordmanns-Forbundet, 24: 371–374, Volume 7) *Heitmann, Helen M. (1976) ''From Fjord to Prairie: Norwegian-Americans in the Midwest, 1825–1975'' (Chicago, IL: Norwegian-American Immigration Anniversary Commission)

External links

Leif Erickson statue In the Humboldt Park, ChicagoEdvard Grieg statue in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asbjoernsen, Sigvald 1867 births 1954 deaths Artists from Chicago Norwegian emigrants to the United States Norwegian artists Artists from Oslo 20th-century American sculptors 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from Illinois 20th-century American male artists