Focus on this artwork and explore the Donor.
The Burns Monument was donated to the City of Milwaukee by James Anderson Bryden, a Scottish immigrant born in Bankshill, near Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire. Bryden's family came to the United States in 1840, first making a home in Utica, New York. The family moved to Milwaukee in 1857 and James Bryden began working in the grain trade. His early years were spent working on the farm, which later in life helped him during his chance meeting with Abraham Lincoln. Bryden's early years on the farm are also said to have influenced his love for the poetic works of Robert Burns, known in Scotland as the Ploughman Poet. A photograph of Bryden standing in front of the Burns Monument was published in the newspaper about one month before the unveiling ceremony.  News reports stated that Bryden's favorite Burns poem was "A Cotter's Saturday Night".
grain trade Burns Monument Dumfriesshire Lockerbie Utica, New York Abraham Lincoln Milwaukee Robert Burns