Leif, the Discoverer (Whitney)

Leif, the Discoverer
Leif, the Discoverer
Artist	Anne Whitney
Year	1887
Type	Public Art, Sculpture (bronze, red sandstone)
Dimensions	240 cm (96 in)
Location	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
	43°2′39.258″N 87°53′50.911″W / 43.04423833°N 87.89747528°WCoordinates: 43°2′39.258″N 87°53′50.911″W / 43.04423833°N 87.89747528°W

Leif, the Discoverer is a bronze sculpture of Leif Ericson created by American sculptor Anne Whitney in 1887. It is located at Juneau Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.

Description[]

The bronze figure

The figure is approximately 8 feet tall; the upper base is approximately 110 x 84 x 84 inches; the lower base is approximately 12 × 9 x 96 inches. The sculpture is bronze; the base is red sandstone.^[1]

Shading his eyes to scan the distance, Leif Ericson stands on a large red sandstone pedestal. Unlike other depictions of Ericson, here he is youthful and clean-shaven. He wears a scale armor shirt, ornamented with breast plates and a studded belt. Underneath, he wears a tunic and leggings with leather sandals. He carries a powder horn over his shoulder and a knife in a decorative sheath at his side. On the sandstone base, the inscription reads, Leif, the discoverer/ son of Erik/ who sailed from Iceland/ and landed on this continent/ A.D. 1000. In runic letters, it also reads, Leif, son of Erik the Red.^[1]

Play media

Short video of Leif, the Discoverer sculpture.

History[]

The original statue resides in Boston, Massachusetts on Commonwealth Avenue. In November 1887, the Milwaukee replica was erected; however, at the request of its donor, Mrs. Joseph Gilbert, there was no dedication ceremony.^[2] On 26 April 2003, the Sons of Norway Fosselyngen Lodge held a ceremony to celebrate the recent addition of the statue's lighting, which cost $3,800. The funds were bequested by the late lodge member, Duane Olson. The addition was a joint effort between the Sons of Norway Fosselyngen Lodge, Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee.^[3] Prior to this, there had been evidence of structural instability, through cracks, erosion, and the deterioration of caulking in a pedestal.^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Leif, the Discoverer, (sculpture)". Save Outdoor Sculpture!. Smithsonian Institution. 1992. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
^ Federal Writers' Project; Norman K. Risjord (May 2006). The WPA Guide to Wisconsin: The Federal Writers' Project Guide to 1930s Wisconsin. Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 259. ISBN 978-0-87351-553-5.
^ "Leif Eriksson". Leif Eriksson Monuments Pages. René & Peter van der Krogt. 2003. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

[SIRIS-1] "Leif, the Discoverer, (sculpture)". Save Outdoor Sculpture!. Smithsonian Institution. 1992. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

[2] Federal Writers' Project; Norman K. Risjord (May 2006). The WPA Guide to Wisconsin: The Federal Writers' Project Guide to 1930s Wisconsin. Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 259. ISBN 978-0-87351-553-5.

[Vander-3] "Leif Eriksson". Leif Eriksson Monuments Pages. René & Peter van der Krogt. 2003. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Public art in Milwaukee
Downtown	The Victorious Charge Family The Calling Wisconsin Workers Memorial Wind Leaves Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil The Great Double Woodland Indian and Whistling Swans Solomon Juneau Leif, the Discoverer Letter Carriers' Monument Argo Bronze Fonz Walkways Through the Wall Abraham Lincoln George Washington Referee Immigrant Mother King Gambrinus RiverSculpture! Gertie the Duck General Douglas MacArthur The Spirit of Polonia World War I Memorial Flagpole Pedestrian Drama Midsummer Carnival Shaft Acqua Grylli Laureate Diana Trigon Pere Jacques Marquette Spanish–American War Soldier Ruins X Ex Stasis City Yard Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Peter John A Beam of Sun to Shake the Sky Rainbow Machine Topiary Lucere Dancing Through Life Mother Teresa Monument Jacques Marquette You Rise Above the World The Last Alarm John Plankinton
North Side	Celebrating the Arts Christian Wahl Elk On Watch Pattern Lapham Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Music Fishing Spirit of the Firefighter Dauntless Guardian Buildings 1992 Gear 23 All in the Air at Once First Flight Sea of the Ear Kindred Ties
East Side	Cleopatra's Wedge Float Polyphony Boy with Goose Eight Stone Lions Three Bronze Discs Holocaust Memorial Happy-Go-Luckies of Nature and Technology Blue Dress Park Sentinels Hermes Milwaukee Eclipse 'X' Intertwining Compass Erastus B. Wolcott Sharing the Load Robert Burns Near Here Compass Walk Like a River Spillover II Tip Jantar-Mantar Cass Street Park Brady Street Beasts Connect Fairies Candles
South Side	Menomonee Count Casimir Pulaski Spirit of Commerce Bay View Series A Place to Sit Stratiformis The Hill Climber Deflected Jets Angel in a Cage R. D. Whitehead Monument Memorial for Belle Austin Jacobs T. A. Chapman Memorial Nature Belle Oops, Missed Space Game Engine Company No. 10 William A. Starke Memorial Steel Reborn Red Flower Rising Equestrian statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko Patrick Cudahy Memorial SOARING Two Opposites Reaching Up Toward the Peak of Progress Edge Elements Ribbons VI Bridge Stone Bracelet Untitled Quartet Tending the Fire Bird and Fish The Sower The Reaper Giving Gifts Watertower
West Side	Henry Bergh Goethe–Schiller Monument Chrysalis The Ideal Scout Uptown Triangles Tree of Life Magic Grove Steuben Monument Kneeling Camels Teamwork Aaron Monument Yount Monument Selig Monument Uecker Monument Fire and Water Vliet Street Commons Miller Valley Veterans Monument Children of the West End
Lynden Sculpture Garden	Sinai Wandering Rocks Sea Form (Atlantic) Sky Fence Floating Sculpture No. 3 Mo, Ni, Que Trio Two-Piece Reclining Figure No. 9 Way Four Compound Junior Salem No. 7 Bremen Town Musicians Ancestor Queen of Sheba Rhythm in Space Peristyle, Three Lines Orizzontale Embrace Ursa Major Three Graces Large Torso, Arch Double Up Upstart The Lovers (di Suvero) Poland Axeltree Orbits Ritual II Hara Olympus The Lovers (Daen) Tensione No. 2 The Source Rainbow Unfolding Vegetative Sculpture I Round About Lodgepole Twist for Max Bench-Stone Windfall Knife Tree Conversations with Magic Stones, Figure Three Conversations with Magic Stones (Magic Stone Three) Kumo Untitled Arch Epicenter Epicenter II III Columns Flight Pin Oak I
Mobile projects	Overpass Light Brigade

Leif, the Discoverer (Whitney)

Contents

Description[]

History[]

See also[]

References[]