Thorfinn Karlsefni (sculpture) explained

Thorfinn Karlsefni
Subject:Thorfinn Karlsefni
Artist:Einar Jónsson
Year:1920
Type:Bronze
Height Imperial:84
Width Imperial:54
Length Imperial:48
Imperial Unit:in
Metric Unit:cm
City:Philadelphia
Owner:City of Philadelphia
Fairmount Park Commission

Thorfinn Karlsefni is a bronze statue of Norse explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni, created by Icelandic sculptor Einar Jónsson. The first casting was located in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, United States, before being toppled by vandals in 2018. A second casting of the statue is in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the original plaster model is located in the Einar Jónsson Museum.

History

The artwork was commissioned by Joseph Bunford Samuel through a bequest that his wife, Ellen Phillips Samuel, made to the Fairmount Park Art Association,[1] specifying that the funds were to be used to create a series of sculptures "emblematic of the history of America",[2] which would eventually become the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial. The statue was installed along Philadelphia's Kelly Drive, near Turtle Rock Light, and unveiled on November 20, 1920.[3] The artwork was one of 51 sculptures included in the Association for Public Art's Museum Without Walls: AUDIO™ interpretive audio program for Philadelphia's outdoor sculpture.[4]

Protests and vandalism

By the 21st century, the statue had become a common rallying location for local white supremacy groups. In time, these rallies led to counter protests and vandalism of the statue.[5] [6] In the early morning hours of October 2, 2018, police were called to the statue's location and found it had been toppled from its stone base, which broke the head from the body, after which it was dragged into the nearby Schuylkill River. During recovery, a crane was needed to remove the statue, which weighs several thousand pounds, from the river.[7] [8]

As of 2020, the statue was being conserved, but the City of Philadelphia had no timeline for its reinstallation and was taking the appropriation of the statue by hate groups into consideration as it made plans for the future.[9]

Inscriptions

The inscriptions formerly read:

Reykjavík casting

In the late 1930s, the city of Reykjavík paid for another casting of the statue to be made for the 1939 New York World's Fair.[10] The statue stood next to one of two entrances to Iceland's exhibit at the Hall of Nations for the duration of the fair (with a casting of the statue of Leif Erikson by Alexander Stirling Calder at the other entrance).[11] After the fair, the statue of Thorfinn went to Reykjavík. In June 1947, it was erected on a small islet in a pond just south of Tjörnin[12] (today this pond is called Þorfinnstjörn). In 1962, the statue was removed from the islet.[13] The casting now resides in the Laugardalur district of Reykjavík, near a retirement home and movie theater.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Full text of "The Icelander Thorfinn Karlsefni who Visited the Western Hemisphere in 1007" . 2015-03-03.
  2. Web site: Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial Sculpture Garden | Association for Public Art . Associationforpublicart.org . 2014-06-20 . 2015-03-03.
  3. Web site: Interactive Art Map | Thorfinn Karlsefni | Association for Public Art . Associationforpublicart.org . 1920-11-20 . 2015-03-03.
  4. Web site: Museum Without Walls: Thorfinn Karlsefni . Fairmount Park Art Association . August 5, 2023 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20101019065417/http://museumwithoutwallsaudio.org/interactive-map/thorfinn-karlsefni . October 19, 2010.
  5. News: Bender . William . October 18, 2013 . Skinheads, protesters headed to Fairmount Park . dead . The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia . https://web.archive.org/web/20200720233521/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/20131018_Skinheads__protesters_headed_to_Fairmount_Park.html . July 20, 2020 . January 2, 2023.
  6. Web site: Entangled Duality of a Viking Statue: Þorfinnur Karlsefni . Theodórsdóttir . Emma . 2021 . The After Monument . Design Academy Eindhoven (Information Design Masters program) . January 2, 2023.
  7. News: Stamm . Dan . October 2, 2018 . Philly's Thorfinn Karlsefni Statue Toppled Into Schuylkill River . NBC10 Philadelphia . Philadelphia . January 2, 2023.
  8. News: Newhouse . Sam . October 2, 2018 . Viking statue turned 'flashpoint' between skinheads and Antifa toppled into Schuylkill River . . Philadelphia . January 2, 2023.
  9. News: Thompson . Gary . January 30, 2020 . Where is the toppled Boathouse Row Viking statue? . dead . The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia . https://web.archive.org/web/20200130135659/https://www.inquirer.com/news/viking-statue-thorfinn-karlsefni-white-nationalists-boathouse-row-20200130.html . January 30, 2020 . January 2, 2023.
  10. News: . October 24, 1938 . Heimssýningin í New York: Afsteypur af Leifsstyttunni og styttunni af Þorfinni karlsefni verða reistar við hús Íslandssýningarinnar í New York . The World's Fair in New York: Casts of Leif's statue and the statue of Thorfinn Karlsefni will be erected at the Iceland Exhibition in New York . Icelandic . . 2 . Reykjavík . December 3, 2023.
  11. Web site: Iceland: Hall of Nations . . 1939 New York World's Fair . Paul M. Van Dort . December 3, 2023 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20231203194612/https://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/worlds_fair/wf_tour/hall_of_nations/iceland.htm . December 3, 2023.
  12. News: . June 8, 1947 . Þorfinnur karlsefni í Hljómskálagarðinum . Thorfinn Karlsefni in Hljómskálagarður . Icelandic . . 12 . Reykjavík . December 3, 2023.
  13. News: . November 7, 1962 . Þorfinnur karlsefni tekinn af stalli . Thorfinn Karlsefni Removed from Pedestal . Icelandic . Morgunblaðið . 24 . Reykjavík . December 3, 2023.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Thorfinn Karlsefni (sculpture)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.