Context

Located in Humboldt Park, mounted to a granite boulder and inscribed "Discoverer of America," the nine-foot high bronze of Norse explorer Leif Ericson was commissioned by the Norwegian American community in Chicago. The artist, Sigvald Asbjørnsen, was born in Oslo, and studied at the Royal Academy in the same city. In 1892, he emigrated to the United States and was one of many artists who sought out commissions for sculpture at the World's Columbian Exposition.