Sigvald Asbjornsen
Encyclopedia
Sigvald Asbjornsen was a Norwegian born American sculptor.
and under Brynjulf Bergslien
. At the age of 16 he was awarded a stipend from King Oscar II to study at the Royal Academy in Oslo where he worked for five years.
where he received several important commissions for sculpture. He eventually moved to Chicago
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 received the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1952 from Norway’s King Haakon VII.
Asbjornsen was primarily known as a sculptor. Some of his well-known commissions include the Leif Erikson statue in Humboldt Park
in Chicago; the Edvard Grieg
statue in Prospect Park
, Brooklyn; Louis Joliet for the Public Library in Joliet, Illinois
and War and Soldiers’ Statue for the Sherman Monument, Washington, D.C.
American statesmen he sculpted included the John R. Monaghan
Monument, Spokane, Washington
. He also crafted busts in bronze of Benjamin Franklin
and Theodore Roosevelt
. He made medallions of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
, Henrik Ibsen
and Edvard Grieg among others. His sculptured relief bust of Roald Amundsen
is in Golden Gate Park
, San Francisco, California
. Asbjornsen exhibited sculptures at the Art Institute of Chicago
between 1897 and 1921. His sculptural work was also shown at the University of Minnesota
exhibit, "The Divided Heart: Scandinavian Immigrant Artists, 1850-1950" in 1982.
Background
Sigvald Asbjørnsen was born in Oslo, Norway. Asbjørnsen studied art with Mathias Skeibrok and Julius MiddelthunJulius Middelthun
Julius Middelthun was a Norwegian sculptor born in Kongsberg, son of a coin engraver. As a young man he trained as a goldsmith before moving to Copenhagen to study with Bissen. His ten years there were followed by eight years in Rome, after which time he returned to Norway...
and under Brynjulf Bergslien
Brynjulf Bergslien
Brynjulf Larsen Bergslien 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 a brother of noted painter and master artist Knud Bergslien...
. At the age of 16 he was awarded a stipend from King Oscar II to study at the Royal Academy in Oslo where he worked for five years.
Career
Sigvald Asbjornsen emigrated to the United States in 1892, first working in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
where he received several important commissions for sculpture. He eventually moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
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 received the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1952 from Norway’s King Haakon VII.
Asbjornsen was primarily known as a sculptor. Some of his well-known commissions include the Leif Erikson statue in Humboldt Park
Humboldt Park (Chicago park)
Humboldt Park is a park located on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois at 1400 North Sacramento Avenue.The park was named for Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist. William Le Baron Jenney began developing the park in the 1870s, molding a flat prairie landscape into a "pleasure ground"...
in Chicago; the Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
statue in Prospect Park
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn located between Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
, Brooklyn; Louis Joliet for the Public Library in Joliet, Illinois
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...
and War and Soldiers’ Statue for the Sherman Monument, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
American statesmen he sculpted included the John R. Monaghan
John R. Monaghan
Ensign John R. Monaghan was an officer in the United States Navy.-Biography:Born in Chewelah, Washington, Monaghan graduated from the Naval Academy in June 1895. For the next two years, as a Passed Midshipman, he served in the cruiser Olympia, flagship of the U.S. Asiatic Station...
Monument, Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
. He also crafted busts in bronze of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
and Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. He made medallions of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...
, Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
and Edvard Grieg among others. His sculptured relief bust of Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
is in Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Asbjornsen exhibited sculptures at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
between 1897 and 1921. His sculptural work was also shown at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
exhibit, "The Divided Heart: Scandinavian Immigrant Artists, 1850-1950" in 1982.
Other sources
- Strand, A.E. A History of the Norwegians in Illinois (Chicago, IL: John Anderson Publishing Co., 1905)
- Sundby-Hansen, Harry Norwegian Immigrant Contributions to America’s Making (New York, NY: International Press, 1921)
- Haugan, Reidar Rye Prominent Artists and Exhibits of Their Work in Chicago (Chicago Norske Klub. Nordmanns-Forbundet, 24: 371—374,Volume 7, 1933)
- Heitmann, Helen M. From Fjord to Prairie: Norwegian-Americans in the Midwest, 1825-1975 (Chicago, IL: Norwegian-American Immigration Anniversary Commission, 1976)