Property Record
2919 Lakeland Drive
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Effigy Tree |
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| Reference Number: | 241097 |
| Location (Address): | 2919 Lakeland Drive |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
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| Year Built: | 1991 |
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| Additions: | 2009 |
| Survey Date: | 2019 |
| Historic Use: | statue/sculpture |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
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| Architect: | Harry R. Whitehorse |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | City of Madison, Wisconsin Underrepresented Communities Historic Resource Survey Report: Harry R. Whitehorse, a native member of the Ho-Chunk tribe, was born near Black River Falls, Wisconsin in 1927. Harry’s mother, Annie Greencrow Whitehorse, purchased land in Monona in 1932 and moved the family to the site along a small creek leading to Lake Waubesa. For years, the family lived wigwams and eventually built a small wooden house in the 1940s. The Whitehorse family still owns the same property in addition to family land near Wittenberg and Black River Falls. Harry and his brother attended school in Monona and were the only two Native Americans in the school. Whitehorse’s interest in art began at an early age as he worked with his uncle, George Seymour, a silversmith and carver. Harry learned the craft and produced small objects with designs derived from nature, which his family would sell along with baskets and other hand-made goods. Harry Whitehorse served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II, which allowed him to visit art museums all around the world. This experience influenced Harry to pursue a career in art after his tour of duty. Whitehorse pursued a diverse education following the war, spending some time studying human and animal anatomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the early 1950s. He graduated from the Arthur Colt School of Fine Art in Madison, where he studied oil painting and sculpture. Later, Harry also graduated from the local technical college where he studied welding and metal fabrication. Whitehorse would often display his work in art fairs and won awards for the best sculptor and best painter during the first two years of the Madison Art Fair on the Square in 1958 and 1959. Harry owned and operated Chief Auto Body and Repair in Monona from the 1960s on, and he and his family built, repaired, and drove race cars competitively. He treated automobiles much like a work of art, using a stock car as a blank canvas to customize and use as a form of expression in a creative process. The business’s garage, constructed in 1960, is located on the Whitehorse family land along the creek in the City of Monona and served as his art studio. During the 1960s and 1970s, Harry produced a series of metal sculptures that helped him gain national artistic prominence. In the 1980s, he moved towards wood carving and produced a series of carved animal figures for private commissions. The 1990s were a productive time for Whitehorse, producing several of his most well-known public sculptures. Whitehorse worked in a wide variety of media throughout his long career including wood carving, drawing, painting, metal, bronze, and even snow. His work is publicly on display in Madison and around the world. His work, regardless of material or period, speaks to his Ho-Chunk heritage and reflects natural subjects in realistic and intricate forms. Harry Whitehorse died in 2017. Harry Whitehorse is locally significant to the First Nations community in the area of Art and Literature, particularly Painting and Sculpture, from 1958 to 2017. During this time, Whitehorse had several pieces of public sculpture installed in Madison: Blackhawk's Journey (1991) at the Blackhawk Country Club at 3606 Blackhawk Drive, Effigy Tree (wood in 1991, re-cast in bronze in 2009) at Hudson Park at 2919 Lakeland Avenue, Superior Spirits (c. 1996) at the Tommy G. Thompson Center at 201 W. Washington Avenue, Ho-Chunk Family Tree (2001) at Thoreau School at 3870 Nakoma Road, One Child Spinning Through Mother Sky (2002) in the Bayview Foundation Community Center at 601 Bay View, Eagle (2006) on the Edgewood College Campus at 1000 Edgewood College Drive, and Tree Sculpture (c. 2010) at Jerry's Camping Center at 4506 E. Broadway. |
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| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |