Jens Jensen

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

Date1930-32

OriginUnited States of America

MediumPainted plaster

Dimensions20 x 12 x 11 in. (50.8 x 30.5 x 27.9 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LinePurchased by University Museums from Charlotte Petersen by Iowa State Students for the Landscape Architecture Department. In the Christian Petersen Collection, Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberU94.2

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: Jens Jensen (1860–1951) was a celebrated landscape architect who played a key role in designing portions of the Iowa State campus in 1916. After settling in Chicago in 1886, Jensen rose to prominence for his design work on public parks and private gardens. Drawing inspiration from the cultural traditions and natural landscapes of his native Denmark, he promoted the concept of the garden as a sanctuary from modern technology and sought to create landscapes that appeared natural and unplanned. Christian Petersen, also of Danish origin, was commissioned to create this portrait bust of Jensen to honor his work with the Chicago parks system. When Petersen sculpted this portrait of Jensen, he successfully captured the architect’s cheerful and lighthearted personality. Although, Petersen expressed some frustration during the sittings, noting that Jensen “is not the best of models—seems to think the whole thing is a huge joke.”3 Despite this, the resulting work is one of Petersen’s most animated portraits. Petersen’s sensitivity to the relationship between sculpture and its surroundings was a defining feature of his public works of art at Iowa State. His attention to both natural and man-made aspects of the environment into which he would place his sculpture may have been influenced by his friendship with Jensen, whose work emphasized harmony with the landscape. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jensen (1860-1951) was a Danish-born landscape architect who designed portions of the Iowa State campus in the 1920's. A contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright, Jensen settled in Chicago in 1886 and began to build his reputation with his designs for public parks in the Chicago area and private parks and gardens. He used plants native to the Midwest and advocated the concept of the garden as a refuge in the face of modern technology. He wanted his landscpae designs to look as unplanned and natural as possible. Christian Petersen may have known Jensen through contacts in the Danish-American community and through his father, who was a friend of Jensen's. In describing the sittings during the sculpting, Petersen remarked with some frustration that "he is not the best of models- seems to think that whole thing is a huge joke." Jensen's lighthearted, jobial attitude is captured in one of Petersen's liveliest portraits.

MarkingsSigned in square: CP

Locations