August Bang

Object NameBust

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1942

MediumPlaster

Dimensions15 in. (38.1 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Clara G and Harold M. Hoover in memory of Marion Abbott Gunderson. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2014.251

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: In 1942, Christian Petersen created a plaster bust of August Bang (1887–1959), the Danish editor of Julegranen magazine. The sculpture portrays Bang with a serious expression and his thick hair combed back. Bang, who was the editor of Dannevirke from 1939 to 1949, had a deep appreciation for the Danish language and worked to strengthen the relationship between Denmark and the United States. Born in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1887, Bang moved to the U.S. in 1913 to pursue a writing career. He married Johanna Lauridsen, and by 1939, they had settled in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Although Bang grew to love his new home, he never forgot his Danish heritage. He carried Danish traditions with him, adapting them to create a uniquely American version of those customs. Bang became a close friend of Petersen, occasionally visiting his studio at Iowa State College.18 In his writings, he passionately supported Petersen’s work, fondly referencing their shared Danish roots: “Just as his artwork is American in expression, it is just as strongly an expression of Petersen’s Danish heritage. Christian Petersen, who now in Iowa has found himself at home, will, because he is of the people, [...] win the hearts of the people — especially the Danish-American heart.”

Locations