Explore the History of this artwork.
The monument was designed by Roland Hinton Perry, the sculptor of the Court of Neptune Fountain at the Library of Congress and Commonwealth, the statue atop the dome of the Pennsylvania State Capitol. The fountain and bronze sculpture was donated by former Portland mayor David P. Thompson in 1900 to commemorate the elk that once lived in the area.The project was completed within a budget of $20,000 under the direction of designer E.G. Wright. Constructed of Barre Granite, the fountain design specified a 25 feet (7.6 m) diameter and 8 feet (2.4 m) high base. Wright had planned to complete the monument in time for a Fourth of July dedication to coincide with a city street carnival, but delays from removing nearby trees, widening Main Street, and connecting city water pipe forced Wright to delay completion of the monument. The 6,800-pound (3,100 kg) Elk was lifted into position in late August, and the Thompson Fountain was finished the first week of September 1900. A carnival sponsored by the Portland Elks Club began that week, and The Oregonian informed its readers, "this is not a carnival elk."  According to the city, the Exalted Order of Elks refused to dedicate it because they considered the statue "a monstrosity of art." A reporter for The Oregonian in 2020 explained that, "part of the problem might have been that [the Perry sculpture] didn't quite capture the animal found in Oregon's wilds," as it depicts neither an Olympic elk nor a Rocky Mountain elk.In 1974, Thompson's Elk and the Plaza Blocks were designated as Historic Landmarks by the city's Historic Landmarks Commission, under the name David P. Thompson Fountain. The sculpture appeared in Gus Van Sant's 1991 film My Own Private Idaho, where the elk was shown with a rider on it. The artwork was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1993. The sculpture appears on the cover art for Portland band Agalloch's 2002 record, The Mantle.
elk Plaza Blocks Elk The Oregonian Olympic elk bronze sculpture My Own Private Idaho Smithsonian Institution Library of Congress Pennsylvania State Capitol Agalloch Gus Van Sant Roland Hinton Perry Rocky Mountain elk The Mantle Elks Club Court of Neptune Fountain Save Outdoor Sculpture! Portland mayor Fourth of July David P. Thompson Barre Granite Commonwealth