About Aaron Street, Founder of the Oskar J. W. Hansen Archives
The Oskar J. W. Hansen Archives was founded in 2020 by Aaron Street, a lawyer, entrepreneur, author, and history researcher based in Minnesota.
Aaron is working directly with Oskar Hansen’s family to research and collect information about one of the most interesting, important, and as-yet uncelebrated artists of the 20th century. The goal: to publish the first-ever biography of Oskar Hansen and to create lasting public awareness of his remarkable life and work.
Why Oskar J. W. Hansen Needs an Archives
Oskar J. W. Hansen (1892–1971) created some of the most iconic public sculptures in the United States—including the Winged Figures of the Republic and the Star Map at Hoover Dam, the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk, and dozens of other monumental works. Yet no biography has ever been written about him. Most of his sculptures have been lost for decades. Even his own family didn’t know the full scope of his work.
The Archives began as a personal research project and grew into something much larger. Over the past several years, this work has reunited long-lost family members, unearthed new mysteries, located missing sculptures, and begun to untangle the mythology Oskar built around his own extraordinary story.
Aaron Street’s Oskar Hansen Research
The Archives maintain a growing catalog of Oskar Hansen’s known sculptures, a comprehensive biographical timeline, and an active research program drawing on archival sources from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Bureau of Reclamation, Navy archives, and private family collections. The research spans Hansen’s entire life—from his childhood in Norway to his final years in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Help Us Find Oskar Hansen’s Lost Sculptures
We are especially interested in connecting with relatives of Oskar Hansen, anyone who knew him while he was alive, and anyone who may know the location of his sculptures. Most of his works—with the exception of his well-known public monuments and his plentiful Virginia Metalcrafters leaf trays—remain unknown to museums, auction houses, and the broader art world.
If you have information, photographs, documents, or leads, please get in touch.