A comprehensive catalog of the known sculptural works of Oskar J. W. Hansen (1892–1971). This database is an ongoing research project — entries range from fully documented works to pieces known only from a single archival reference. --THIS PAGE IS ACTIVELY UNDER CONSTRUCTION--
Between 1936 and 1938, Oskar J.W. Hansen created six sculptures at Hoover Dam—the Winged Figures, a Star Map, Zodiac Compass, Workers Memorial, Elwood Mead tribute, and bas-reliefs—forming Monument Plaza, a unified artistic program.
A low-relief bronze panel by Oskar J.W. Hansen commemorating the workers who died during Hoover Dam's construction. Completed in 1936. Inscription: "They died to make the desert bloom."
Two series of five concrete bas-relief panels on Hoover Dam's elevator towers by Oskar J.W. Hansen, completed 1936.
A bronze memorial plaque at Hoover Dam honoring Dr. Elwood Mead, first Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, who died January 26, 1936. Lake Mead bears his name.
Two 30-foot cast bronze sculptures flanking a 142-foot flagpole at Hoover Dam's Monument Plaza. Created by Oskar J.W. Hansen and completed in 1937, each figure weighs over four tons. Hansen described them as representing the collective human capacity that made the dam possible.
A terrazzo floor inlaid with brass markers plotting the positions of stars and planets on September 30, 1935—the date FDR dedicated Hoover Dam. Designed by Oskar Hansen with the Smithsonian Institution and U.S. Navy using over 200,000 astronomical calculations.
A terrazzo compass design by Oskar J.W. Hansen set into the floor at Hoover Dam's Monument Plaza, marking the dam's geographic coordinates and cardinal directions with zodiac symbols.