LEIF ERIKSSON MONUMENTS PAGES
| Place |
Artist |
Date |
Type |
Boston, Mass. (USA)
|
Ann Whitney |
1886 |
Statue |
Description:
Bronze statue of Leif Eriksson as "a man of physical beauty and vigor, in the costume of the ancient Scandinavian warrior," on a large marble pedestal, with on the sides two bronze relief. The statue was made in 1886, unveiled on 29 October 1887 and rededicated in 1989.
Inscriptions:
On the pedestal, front:
= LEIFR HIN HIBNI
EIRIKS SUNR
LEIF
THE DISCOVERER
SON OF ERIK
WHO SAILED FROM ICELAND
AND LANDED ON THIS CONTINENT
A.D. 1000
At the left foot, the statue is signed:
ANNE WHITNEY SC.
BOSTON - 1885.
At the right foot: (the name of the foundry)
On a bronze plaque (rededication 1989):
GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS BY
NORSEMEN MEMORIAL COMMITTEE,
S/N LODGES MORGENSOLEN #545
AND NORUMBEGA #506,
AND IN MEMORY OF
RICHARD ANDREW ASKILDSEN
HAVE PROVIDED FOR THE RESTORATION
AND PERMANENT MAINTENANCE OF
THE LEIF ERIKSON MEMORIAL
CITY OF BOSTON
1989
RAYMOND L. FLYNN,
MAYOR
Reliefs:
Notes:
Eben Norton, Horsford, the discoverer of baking powder and amateur archeologist, was convinced that the Vikings had sailed up the Charles to found Vinland - the lost Viking colony on the North American mainland. He even claimed to have found evidence of Viking buildings in Cambridge and Watertown. So he commissioned in 1887 a statue created by artist Ann Whitney, to commemorate the landing spot and a tower in Waltham, with a large tablet including a summary of his theory.
More info on Horsford and his ideas:
Gloria Polizzotti Greis,
Vikings on the Charles or,
The Strange Saga of Dighton Rock, Norumbega, and
Rumford Double-Acting Baking Powder (on-line here)
Notes
Literature:
- Horsford, Eben N. Discovery of America by Northmen. Address at the unveiling of the statue of Leif Eriksen, delivered in Faneuil hall, Oct. 29, 1887. Boston 1888. 13 s. Illustr.
- Janet A. Headley, Anne Whitney's Leif Eriksson: A Brahmin Response to Christopher Columbus. American Art, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Summer 2003).
Source(s):
