''Leif, the Discoverer '' is a bronze sculpture of

Leif Ericson Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental Nort ...

created by American sculptor

Anne Whitney Anne Whitney (September 2, 1821 – January 23, 1915) was an American sculptor and poet. She made full-length and bust sculptures of prominent political and historical figures, and her works are in major museums in the United States. She received ...

in 1887. It is located at Juneau Park in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States.

Description

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 Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. 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 A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...

and leggings with leather sandals. He carries a

powder horn A powder horn is a container for gunpowder, and was generally created from cow, ox or buffalo horn (anatomy), horn. The term may also be used for any personal container for gunpowder, although powder flask is the strictly correct term. Featur ...

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 Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

, it also reads, Leif, son of Erik the Red.

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. On 26 April 2003, the

Sons of Norway Sons of Norway ( no, Sønner av Norge), founded in 1895 as the Independent Order of the Sons of Norway, is a fraternal organization principally representing people of Norwegian heritage in the United States and Canada. The organization include ...

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. Prior to this, there had been evidence of structural instability, through cracks, erosion, and the deterioration of caulking in a pedestal.

References

{{MilwaukeePublicArt 1887 establishments in Wisconsin 1887 sculptures Articles containing video clips Bronze sculptures in Wisconsin Cultural depictions of Leif Erikson Monuments and memorials in Wisconsin Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee Sculptures of men in Wisconsin Statues in Wisconsin Statues of explorers

Description

History

See also

References