Sigvald Asbjørnsen (October 19, 1867 – September 8, 1954) was a Norwegian-born American sculptor.

Background

Sigvald Asbjørnsen was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway on October 19, 1867. He studied art with Mathias Skeibrok (1851–1896) and Julius Middelthun and under Brynjulf Bergslien. 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. He married Margaretha Stuhr and they had three children.

Career

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

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where he worked on the buildings for the

World Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The c ...

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 Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

and Edvard Grieg among others. Asbjørnsen exhibited sculptures at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

between 1897 and 1921. He received the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1952 from Norway's

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

. Asbjørnsen died at his son's home in Chicago on September 8, 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 ...

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

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

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

*''Illinois State Monument'',

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, located in northern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, preserves the sites of two major battles of the American Civil War: the Battle of Chickamauga and the Siege of Chattanooga. A detailed ...

, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1898–99. * Statue of Leif Erikson, Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1901. *''War'', and ''Soldier'' (corner figure),

General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument The General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument is an equestrian statue of American Civil War Major General William Tecumseh Sherman located in Sherman Plaza, which is part of President's Park in Washington, D.C., in the United States. The selectio ...

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 Ellips ...

, Washington, D.C., ca. 1901–02. Asbjørnsen created the figure of ''War'', and completed one of

Carl Rohl-Smith Carl Wilhelm Daniel Rohl-SmithCarr, p. 375. (April 3, 1848- August 20, 1900) was a Danish American sculptor who was active in Europe and the United States from 1870 to 1900. He sculpted a number of life-size and small bronzes based on Greco-Roma ...

'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 Prison, Confederate prisoner of war camp in Georgia holding Union soldiers * Andersonville, Chicago, a ...

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

Louis Joliet Louis Jolliet (; September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore ...

'',

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 t ...

, Joliet, Illinois, 1903–04. *''Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Monument'',

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

, 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 most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, 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 The Montana State Capitol is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Montana that houses the Montana State Legislature which is located in the state capital of Helena at 1301 East Sixth Avenue. The building was constructed between 1896 and 1902 ...

, Helena, Montana, 1911–13. *''

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

Memorial'',

Prospect Park Prospect Park may refer to: Businesses * Prospect Park (production company), entertainment production company *Prospect Park Productions NZ, theatre company based in Dunedin, New Zealand Places New Zealand * Prospect Park, New Zealand, a portion ...

, Brooklyn, New York, 1914. *''Relief bust of

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, 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, Am ...

'',

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...

, 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:"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 The Roald Amundsen Memorial by Sigvald Asbjørnsen is installed in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, in the U.S. state of California. It honours Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 187 ...

, 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