Oskar J. W. Hansen (1892-1971)

As recorded here earlier,
in 1926, there was one J.W. Hansen
who was accused by Emory Seidel
of refusing to pay his dining room bill to "Old Joe"

But further research has discovered
that Mr. Hansen and Mr. Seidel
were both distinguished sculptors
who served together on the Jury of Selection for the
46th Annual American Painting and Sculpture Exhibit
in 1935 at the Art Institute



and Mr. Hansen won the commission
to make some of the most famous statues of the time
as ornament for that massive monument
to modern America,
Hoover Dam




What an incredible
commission that must have been,
right in the middle of the Great Depression.











He also designed the relief sculpture on that site




and later, re-designed the figure at the top
of the Victory Memorial at Yorktown
(the earlier version had be struck by lightning)





But he was a man of many talents,
and he designed this silver fruit bowl




..as well as this small brooch


..and this ornamental bust


He also was a writer ---
publishing this "how to" article
in "Amateur Mechanics"

and this essay
explaining the Victory statue
he designed for the lobby of the Hinsdale Memorial Building.

And did I mention that he published two books?

In 1927, the Nordic Society of Chicago published:

Chien-Mi-Lo : a satirical prose fantasy with interpretative sculpture

and in 1968, Vantage (a New York vanity press) published:

"Beyond the Cherubim"

When attempting to read these books,
it should be remembed that when he first arrived in
in Chicago, he attended Northwestern Divinity School --
so his prose might be called 'ecstatic'




Out in the western suburbs, he also modeled
the bust of Joseph Medill at the McCormick Museum in Cantigny.

There is also another winged figure
that he designed for the Rand Tower in Minneapolis.

Born in Norway, he spent his youth as a cabin boy
sailing around the world,
finally arriving in Chicago in 1910.

He might be considered the
most distinguished artist to have
ever joined the Palette and Chisel
(if only he had paid his tab to Old Joe!)




(note:  more about Hansen is written here )

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10TH NATIONAL AIR RACES, 1930





This air medal was brought to our attention
by the comment left below