How does this artwork elucidate its History?
The statue was created in 1925 as a gift of the Norwegian Society of America, which raised funds for its cost. The sculptor was the Norwegian-American Paul Fjelde who, in describing his work said, "The figure that I have created shows a much younger Colonel Heg than his photographs. After all he was a young man, only thirty-three when he died. I tried to regain the spirit of youth which must have been his before the cares of war had aged him beyond his years. I think I have succeeded."The statue is one of three casts made at the foundry of Ernst Poleszynski in Kristiania, Norway. It was shipped in 1925 from Norway on the Norwegian-American Line, arrived in New York on August 21 of that year, and completed the rest of its journey to Madison on September 3. After its arrival, the 2,000 lb (910 kg) crate containing the statue was stored in the northeast pavilion of the Capitol Building. The delay between arrival and dedication lasted for more than a year, and was due to the need to raise some $2,000 to purchase and erect a base for the statue's final home. By joint resolution No., 30, 1925 of the Wisconsin state assembly and senate, the statue was to be "placed in the capitol park at Madison, Wisconsin" in the centennial year of the beginning of Norwegian immigration to the United States.Two thousand spectators attended the unveiling of the statue on October 17, 1926 at the Wisconsin State Capitol. It was dedicated "in memory of a distinguished citizen and volunteer soldier of the Civil war period."
Kristiania Norway Paul Fjelde Madison, Wisconsin Norwegian-American Line Capitol Building Wisconsin Wisconsin State Capitol