George Lundeen

George Lundeen
George Lundeen in a workshop
Born	1948 Holdrege, Nebraska
Known for	Sculptor

George Wayne Lundeen (born 1948) is an American sculptor known for his bronze sculptures.

Life and education

George Wayne Lundeen was born in 1948, ^{[1] [2]} and is a native of Holdrege, Nebraska. ^[3] He is one of six children. ^[4] He has degrees in art from Hastings College, Nebraska and the University of Illinois, and was a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in Italy. ^[1]

As of 2024, he lives and works in Loveland, Colorado, and is married to Cammie, also a sculptor, since 1988. ^{[5] [4]}

Work

External videos
Local artist captures moments in time through sculptures (3:08 min), 9News, retrieved 26 April 2025 – via YouTube

Lundeen founded a company, Lundeen Sculptures, in Loveland in 1976. He previously worked as a teacher and at foundries abroad and in the US. ^[6] His younger brother Mark, also a sculptor, joined the company in 1981. As of 2022, it had around 30 employees. ^[6] As of 2024, George and Mark own the company, and several employees are family members: Cammie, George's wife; Nelse, the company's accountant and brother of George and Mark; and Nelse's wife Bets, a sculptor. Four more family members are also employed. ^[4] Along with traditional methods, the company also uses 3D scanning and 3D printing to create artworks. ^[7]

Southwest Art said in 2011 that George Lundeen was "instrumental in turning Loveland into the sculpture capital of the West." ^[8] According to the Denver Gazette , Lundeen Sculptures is one of the top bronze sculpture studios in the US. ^[6] Many pieces by George, sometimes made together with Mark or the company's other sculptors, are displayed as public art or in museums, colleges, libraries and other places, for example at the John Deere World Headquarters. ^[9] The pieces are often limited editions, and can be seen in several places. ^[10] Two statues by George and Mark are included in the American National Statuary Hall Collection, representing Kansas and Colorado. ^{[1] [11]} Since the 2000s, the company has supplied bronzes to all the Scheels All Sports stores. ^{[12] [6]} Three busts by George are displayed in the Nebraska Hall of Fame. ^[13]

Selected artworks

Clay model for the Stations of the Cross (Station 2), pictured left to right are Mark Lundeen, Bets Lundeen, Joey Bainer, George Lundeen and Anne LaRose

"Well, you have to realize that [bronze sculptures] aren't necessarily permanent. For instance, years ago I made a Thomas Jefferson and it ended up in quite a number of public places and universities. Now, a number of those have been taken out because Thomas Jefferson has come to be not quite as respected, you might say, as he once was. ... We had a Thomas Jefferson and a Ben Franklin taken out of a school in Kansas, and we called up a school in North Dakota and they said, 'Sure, we'll take them.'"

— George Lundeen, 2022 ^[6]

• Amelia Earhart at the National Statuary Hall Collection and the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum. Amelia Earhart (born 1897, disappeared 1937) was an American aviation pioneer. ^[1] The statue replaced one of Kansas senator John J. Ingalls. ^[14]

• The Aviator at Denver International Airport and other places. Elrey Borge Jeppesen (1907–1996) was an American aviation pioneer, who created manuals and charts that enabled pilots to fly more safely. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

• Benjamin Franklin (on a bench) at the University of Pennsylvania ^[18] and other places. ^{[2] [19]} George Lundeen said in 2002 that "Ben Franklin is everywhere from Mexico to France to England, and quite a number of them are around the United States". ^[10] It has become a tradition of students at the University of Pennsylvania to urinate on the statue, known as "Ben on a bench". The act is illegal and students have been fined for it. ^{[20] [21]}

• The Defiance Monument at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The statue depicts Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the United States. Its pose, with a raised fist, was inspired by pictures taken just after the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania in 2024. ^{[22] [23]}

• Departure in Greenwood Village, Colorado and other places. George Lundeen drew a sketch of a couple in an Italian train station, and the statue is based on this drawing. According to the Museum of Outdoor Arts, "The inclination towards travel is a universal instinct, and this sculpture nonetheless communicates the physical and emotional drive to move, grow, and inevitably change." ^{[24] [25] [26]}

• The Eagle Has Landed in Brevard County, Florida, in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. It depicts the Apollo 11 crew members. ^[27]

• Jack Swigert at the National Statuary Hall Collection and Denver International Airport. Jack Swigert (1931–1982) was an Apollo 13 astronaut, known for reporting "Okay, Houston ... we've had a problem here." ^{[11] [28]}

• The Joy of Music in Loveland and other places. This is a group of five figures, singing and playing music. George Lundeen modeled them on friends and family, and included himself, playing the bass. ^{[29] [30]}

• The Player at Coors Field, Denver. The statue is a tribute to baseball player and sports executive Branch Rickey (1881–1965), known for breaching the baseball color line in 1945 by signing player Jackie Robinson. A miniature of the statue is given to recipients of the Branch Rickey Award. ^{[31] [32]}

• Promise of the Prarie in Holdrege and other places. ^{[33] [34]} George Lundeen calls it the quintessential farm family. When asked in 2002 about what artworks he was particularly proud of, Promise of the Prarie was the first he mentioned. It was also one of his earliest economic successes. ^[10]

• Robert Frost Sitting on a Park Bench at Hastings College. Robert Frost (1874–1963) was an American poet, the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. ^[3]

• The General Rose Monument in Denver, Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park. Maurice Rose (1899–1945) was an American major general who was killed in WWII. ^{[35] [36]}

• Sally Ride at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York. Sally Ride (1951–2012) was the first American woman in space. ^[6]

• Stations of the Cross at Cloisters on the Platte near Omaha, Nebraska. Sculptors from Lundeen Sculptures worked with several other studios on this artwork, consisting of several sculptures depicting the last days of Jesus' life, placed along a 2,500-foot-long walkway. ^{[37] [38]} The company also made similar sculptures for a church garden in Michigan. ^[39]

• Storybooks at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Wagner College, Staten Island, New York and other places. It depicts a woman, a girl and a boy, sitting on a bench reading books. ^{[40] [41]}

• 
  Mark and George Lundeen with a miniature of their Amelia Earhart statue at the National Statuary Hall Collection
• 
  Departure in the VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, Canada
• 
  The Eagle Has Landed statues on display, by George Lundeen, Mark Lundeen and Joey Bainer
• 
  Joy of Music
• 
  General Rose sculpture in clay
• 
  One of the Stations of the Cross sculptures (station 13) at the Cloisters on the Platte

See also

• Jane DeDecker, former apprentice

References

1. "Amelia Earhart Statue". Architect of the Capitol . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
2. "Join 'Ben Franklin' sculpture on a bench". The Holland Sentinel . 20 June 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
3. McCord, Monty (2001). Hastings: The Queen City of the Plains. Arcadia Publishing. p. 128. ISBN   978-1-4396-1324-5.
4. Grenz, Angeline (26 August 2024). "Generational Artistry – Learn about Lundeen Sculpture in Loveland & Vilona Studios in Berthoud". NOCO Style. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
5. "George". Lundeen Sculpture. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
6. Weiser, Scott (27 May 2022). "Sculpture of astronaut Sally Ride, created in Colorado, headed to museum". Denver Gazette . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
7. Nick, Stacy (10 November 2017). "Loveland Sculptors And Michelangelo Get A Hand From 3D Printing". KUNC . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
8. "40 Prominent People". Southwest Art . 40 (12): 94. May 2011. ISSN   0192-4214.
9. Pearson, Rita (25 Jan 1998). "Deere deer dear" . The Rock Island Argus . p. 11 – via newspapers.com.
10. McDaniel, Bruce A. (2002). Entrepreneurship and Innovation: An Economic Approach. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. p. 186-187. ISBN   0765607085.
11. "Jack Swigert Jr. Statue". Architect of the Capitol . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
12. Young, Craig (6 September 2017). "Scheels store in Johnstown prepares for opening day". Reporter-Herald .
13. "Nebraska Hall of Fame". Nebraska Public Media . Retrieved 25 April 2025.
14. Kunkle, Fredrick (27 July 2022). "Amelia Earhart statue alights in Capitol after long journey". The Washington Post . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
15. Whitlock, Flint; Barnhart, Terry L. (2007). Capt. Jepp and the Little Black Book. Savage Press. pp. 209–212. ISBN   978-1-886028-83-8.
16. Jensen, Dave (24 November 2021). "DIA Has a Great Sculpture Created by One of Loveland's Legends". Retro 102.5 . Retrieved 25 April 2025.
17. "Captain Elrey B. Jeppesen – RACSTL". Regional Arts Commission . Retrieved 25 April 2025.
18. "Benjamin Franklin (on a bench)". Association for Public Art . Retrieved 24 April 2025.
19. Behnke, Duke (21 May 2021). "Benjamin Franklin finds place at Neenah Public Library — without input from the Neenah Arts Council". The Post-Crescent . Retrieved 24 April 2025.
20. Li, Joe; Washington, Jessica (6 November 2014). "Golden Tradition". The Daily Pennsylvanian . Retrieved 24 April 2025.
21. Burgmann, Kai. "Interactive and Irreverent Traditions at Penn's Campus Monuments". University of Pennsylvania . Retrieved 24 April 2025.
22. Rowley, Jocelyn (5 February 2025). "Lundeen Sculpture in Loveland creates bronze Trump statue". Reporter-Herald . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
23. "Sticker Mule CEO presents Trump with 'Defiance' statue at president's West Palm Beach golf course". The Post Millennial . 12 April 2025. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
24. Vacca, Tim (6 October 2020). "Departure by George Lundeen". Museum of Outdoor Arts . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
25. "New 'Departure' Sculpture to Live in Place of the Beloved 'Valentine'". Idaho State University. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
26. "Departure". vancouver.ca. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
27. "'Why Was That Not Done': Colorado Family Sculpts Apollo 11 Monument – CBS Colorado". CBS News . 16 July 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
28. "Jack Swigert, the astronaut commemorated at DIA, did an amazing thing 47 years ago today". Denverite . 17 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
29. Biolchini, Amy (11 July 2015). "'Joy of Music' brings year-round life to downtown Holland". The Holland Sentinel . Retrieved 25 April 2025.
30. "Have you ever felt the joy of music?". D & Z sculpture. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
31. DeMichael, Tom (2016). Baseball FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Pastime. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 283. ISBN   978-1-61713-658-0.
32. Shapley, Linda (1 April 2006). "Play ball! A Coors Field guide". The Denver Post . Retrieved 25 April 2025.
33. Boye, Alan (2007). The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 242–243. ISBN   978-0-8032-3378-2.
34. Greenwald, Joy (7 December 2021). "Three More Capitol Avenue Bronzes to Be Installed Wednesday". KGAB . Retrieved 25 April 2025.
35. Simpson, Kevin (17 April 2023). "A Colorado hero died fighting the Nazis. He's finally been recognized back home". The Colorado Sun . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
36. "The Story of the Monument". Rose Monument Foundation. 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
37. Jessen, Kenneth (1 December 2018). "Sacred Sculptures". NOCO Style. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
38. O’Donnell, Alicia (3 December 2018). "Lundeen sculpts larger-than-life Stations of the Cross – Hastings College". Hastings College . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
39. Costello, Will (16 August 2024). "Lundeen studio, collaborators, complete work on massive stations of the cross sculpture project". Reporter-Herald . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
40. "News Fronts". American Libraries . 24 (7): 601. 1993. ISSN   0002-9769.
41. "New sculpture installed on campus is gift from Spiro family". Wagner College. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2025.

External links

• Official website
• Friends of Western Art presents First Tuesday with George Lundeen 5.2.23, 2023 video
• Kinghorn, Harriet; Ticknor, Wendy (1998). From Clay to Bronze: Creating the Jack Swigert Sculpture. Spice of Life Educational Pub. ISBN   978-1-891178-01-6.