Carl Milles Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Carl Milles
Carl Milles by his desk in the Millesgården in Sweden 1955

Born	23 June 1875 Lagga
Died	19 September 1955 (aged 80) Lidingö församling
Occupation	Sculptor, architect
Spouse(s)	Olga Milles
Parent(s)	Emil "Mille" Andersson
Family	Ruth Milles, Tage Millés, Evert Milles, Stig Milles
Website	https://www.millesgarden.se/home.aspx

Indian God of Peace, Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Carl Milles (born Carl Wilhelm Emil Andersson; 1875–1955) was a famous Swedish sculptor. He created many well-known statues and fountains. Carl was married to artist Olga Milles and was the brother of Ruth Milles. His half-brother was the architect Evert Milles.

Some of his most famous works include the Gustaf Vasa statue in Stockholm and the Poseidon statue in Gothenburg. He also made the Orpheus group outside the Stockholm Concert Hall. His home near Stockholm, called Millesgården, is now a museum. It is also where he is buried.

About Carl Milles
- Carl Milles in America
Famous Sculptures by Carl Milles
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About Carl Milles

Carl Milles was born in 1875 near Uppsala, Sweden. In 1897, he traveled to Paris, France. He planned to go to Chile, but he stayed in Paris instead. There, he studied art and worked in the studio of the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin. Carl slowly became known for his own sculptures.

In 1904, Carl and his wife Olga moved to Munich, Germany. Two years later, they came back to Sweden. They bought land on an island near Stockholm called Lidingö. This is where they built Millesgården between 1906 and 1908. It was Carl's home and workshop. In 1936, Millesgården became a foundation and was given to the Swedish people. Today, it is a popular museum.

Carl Milles in America

In 1931, an American publisher named George Gough Booth invited Carl Milles to Michigan, USA. Carl became a sculptor at the Cranbrook Educational Community. As part of his work, he also created large sculptures for other places.

In 1938, Carl made a sculpture for the 300th anniversary of New Sweden. This was when Swedish colonists first came to America. The sculpture shows a copy of the Kalmar Nyckel, the ship that brought the colonists. You can see this sculpture at Fort Christina in Wilmington, Delaware.

Carl Milles is well known in America for his fountains. One famous fountain is The Meeting of the Waters in St. Louis, Missouri. It shows the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers joining together. When it was shown in 1940, some people found its playful figures a bit unusual.

Another important work is The Hand of God. This statue is outside the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit, Michigan. It was made to honor Frank Murphy, who was a mayor, governor, and Supreme Court Justice. The statue is also used as a small copy for the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research.

Carl and Olga Milles returned to Sweden in 1951. They spent their summers at Millesgården. In winters, they lived in Rome, Italy, where they had a studio. Carl Milles passed away in 1955. He and Olga are buried in a small stone chapel at Millesgården.

Famous Sculptures by Carl Milles

Carl Milles created many impressive sculptures. Here are some of his notable works:

Aganippe Fountain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, 1951-1955
Aviator Monument, Karlaplan, Stockholm, 1931
Fountain of Faith, National Memorial Park cemetery, Falls Church, Virginia, 1939-1952
Gustav Vasa Statue, Nordic Museum, Stockholm, 1905-1907 and 1925
Folkung Fountain, Old Square, Linköping, 1924–1927
Sten Sture Monument, Uppsala, 1902–1925
Indian God of Peace, City Hall, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1932–1936
Bronze doors, Finance Building, Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1938
Diana Fountain, Matchstick Palace, Stockholm, 1927–28
Europe and the Bull Fountain, Stora Torg, Halmstad, 1924–1926
Exterior sculpted decor of Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm, 1903–1908
God on the Rainbow, Nacka, 1995 (based on a 1946 model by Milles)
The Greendale War Memorial on West Boylston Street in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Greendale War Memorial for Veterans of All Wars, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1948
Man and Nature, lobby of 1 Rockefeller Plaza, Rockefeller Center, New York City, 1937–1941
Man and Pegasus, Castle Park, Malmö, 1949
Maritime Goddess, Helsingborg, 1921–1923
Meeting of the Waters, monumental fountain, St. Louis, Missouri, 1936–1940
Monument to Johannes Rudbeckius, Västerås, 1923
Many works at Cranbrook Educational Community, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, including Mermaids & Tritons Fountain, 1930, Sven Hedin on a Camel, 1932, Jonah and the Whale Fountain, 1932, Orpheus Fountain, 1936.
On a Sunday Morning, monumental fountain, Ingalls Mall, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1939–1941
Orpheus Group, in front of Stockholm Concert Hall, 1926–1936
Playing Angels, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1950
Poseidon Fountain, Götaplatsen, Gothenburg, 1925–1931
Saint Martin of Tours (William Volker Memorial Fountain), Kansas City, Missouri, 1950-1955
Sjöguden (Sea God), Skeppsbron, Stockholm, 1913
Spirit of Transportation, Detroit Civic Center, Detroit, Michigan, 1952
Sun Singer, Helgeandsholmen, Stockholm, 1926; replicas in Robert Allerton Park, Monticello, Illinois, and National Memorial Gardens, Falls Church, Virginia
Swedish Tercentenary Monument, Fort Christina, Wilmington, Delaware, 1937–38
The Archer, in front of Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, 1919
The Astronomer, 1939 New York World's Fair, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, 1938-39 (a plaster model, later made in bronze)
The Four Ages of Economic Exchange, Stockholms Enskilda Bank head office, Stockholm, 1915
The Hand of God, Eskilstuna, 1952-1954
Two Dancers, 1915, placed on Gothenburg's Götaplatsen in 1952
Two plaques on WWJ Building, Detroit, Michigan, 1936
Wall reliefs on Racine County Courthouse, Racine, Wisconsin, 1931