The ''Lapham Memorial'' is a public artwork by American artist Albert H. Atkins, located near the entrance to Lapham Hall, on the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

campus. It is in memory of Increase A. Lapham, a 19th-century scientist famous for prompting the creation of the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

and recording the

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

of Wisconsin, among other accomplishments.

Description

The relief plaque is made out of bronze and is mounted on a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

base. The plaque is approximately 27.5 inches by 37 inches and the base is approximately 50 inches by 82 inches by 82 inches, weighing 40,000 pounds. The

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pl ...

is in a landscape format featuring the

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

of Increase A. Lapham in the center. The male figure has a mustache and a beard, and is wearing a high collared shirt, a bow tie, and jacket.Inventory of American Sculpture
Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS), Smithsonian American Art Museum. ''Accessed May 2011.'' To the upper left there is an

oil lamp An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. Th ...

, which represents Lapham's contribution to learning in Wisconsin. It is inscribed: "In memory of Increase Allen Lapham." There is a fish on the plaque's upper right representing his interest in the fresh water lakes and natural resources of Wisconsin. It is inscribed: " Naturalist MDCCC.XI . MDCCC.LXXV." The words inscribed below the portrait are as follows: "Erected by his friends in commemoration of his services to the cause of human knowledge and his unselfish devotion to the welfare of the people. Under the auspices of the old settlers club of Milwaukee County."

Historical information

Lapham was a member of the Old Settlers' Club of Milwaukee. The club commissioned the plaque.

Location history

It was originally installed at an entrance to Lapham Park on 8th Street in Milwaukee. This was where Lapham had surveyed an Indian mound. The city began a housing project on this site in the 1960s and the plaque was moved to a drive leading to Lapham Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee campus. It was later moved in front of Lapham Hall along North Maryland Avenue for better visibility.

Artist

The artist who created this plaque was Albert Henry Atkins. He was an American sculptor born in 1880 in Milwaukee. He died in 1951. Atkins both lived and was an active artist in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. He was well known for his monuments and portraits in sculpture. This work is the only example of his sculpture in a public place in the city of his birth.

Condition

In May 1993,

Save Outdoor Sculpture! Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999. History Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...

surveyed and noted it needed treatment.

Other memorial

Another memorial tablet in honor of Increase A. Lapham is at Lapham Peak in Waukesha county. It was unveiled in 1917.
The Society and the State
', Wisconsin Magazine of History, 1917, v. 1, n. 1, pp. 105-106.
copy

References

Sources

*Lapham, S. G.
Honors a Distinguished Scientist
', Americana, American Historical Magazine, (Dec.) 1915, v. 10, pp. 1050–1052.
copy
*Bruce, W. G.
Increase A. Lapham
', History of Milwaukee, City and County, 1922, v. 1, pp. 123–126.
copy

External links

Wants Monument for Increase A. Lapham
''Milwaukee Sentinel'', October 23, 1910
Giant Boulder Setting for Memorial Tablet to Pioneer Settler
''Milwaukee Journal'', June 17, 1915
Will Unveil Tablet to Memory of Dr. Lapham
''Milwaukee Sentinel'', June 17, 1915
Memorial Erected to Early Day Scientist
''Milwaukee Journal'', June 20, 1915 {{University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 1915 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Indiana