Block: limestone with inset granite boulder and bronze medallion; Base of block: limestone; Pulpit: stones set in concrete; Wall: limestone and concrete with bronze plaques
Administered by Luther College Fine Arts Collection 700 College Drive Decorah Iowa 52101 Accession Number: 975
Located Luther College Campus Entrance, Leif Erikson Drive Decorah Iowa
Date:
1933. Installed 1936
Notes:
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Iowa survey, 1994.
Luther College, 1994.
Image on file.
(On block, on bronze plaque on base, below boulder with medallion:) REV. LAUR. LARSEN, D.D./1833-1915/FIRST PRESIDENT OF LUTHER COLLEGE/1861-1902/"WELL DONE THY GOOD AND/FAITHFUL SERVANT"/SOLI DEO GLORIA (On wall, first bronze plaque from left end is rectangular and discusses Norwegians founding Luther College and notes that Tarkjel Landsverk built this memorial) (On wall, third bronze plaque from left is rectangular and lists founding and supporting pastors, 1843-1875) (On wall, fourth bronze plaque from left is rectangular and lists pioneer founding congregations in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Dakota Territory) (On wall, bronze plaque at center, which is fifth from left, is rectangular and discusses Pioneer Memorial and Luther College Diamond Jubilee) (On wall, sixth bronze plaque from left is rectangular and lists pioneer founding congregations in Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Kansas, and 6 other locations) (On wall, seventh bronze plaque from left is rectangular and lists pioneer teachers, boards of trustees, first graduating classes, building committee and incorporators) (On wall, ninth bronze plaque from left, which is at right end of wall, is rectangular, and lists church councils, 1851-1890) unsigned
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary:
Terraced stone memorial in garden setting. In the foreground, an oval, bronze, portrait medallion depicting Laur. Larsen is set in a granite boulder, which in turn is set in a limestone block on a trapezoidal limestone base. In the center ground, a round, concrete pulpit with an open back resembles a tree stump. In the background, a limestone and concrete wall displays nine bronze plaques, most of which contain text; however, the second, fifth, and eighth plaques from the left end of the wall contain relief images. The second plaque is oval and depicts Egge pioneer homestead. The fifth plaque, which is at the center of the wall, is rectangular and depicts first Luther College Main Building; it also includes text. The eighth plaque is oval and depicts Washington Prairie Church. Bronze garlands connect the fourth, fifth, and sixth plaques.