Jean Pond Miner Coburn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean Pond Miner Coburn
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| Born | 1866 |
| Died | 1967 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Lorado Taft, Art Institute of Chicago |
| Known for | sculptor |
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Notable work
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Forward, bronze statue in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol |
Jean Pond Miner Coburn (1866–1967) was an American sculptor born in Menasha, Wisconsin. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago with Lorado Taft, eventually becoming an assistant to him and teaching at the Art Institute herself.
Forward
During the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition Miner and Helen Farnsworth Mears were named artists-in-residence at the Wisconsin Building. At that time Miner was commissioned to create a work of art representing the state. She created Forward; "Forward" is the motto of the state of Wisconsin. The statue was afterward purchased by women's suffrage organizations and "presented to the state of Wisconsin on behalf of the women's suffrage movement".
For a century the statue, made out of copper, stood on the Capitol grounds, slowly deteriorating. In 1996 several women's groups and "women of Wisconsin" raised the funds to have the work cast in bronze. This bronze was placed on the Capitol grounds while the copper original was placed in the lobby of the Wisconsin Historical Society building.
On June 23, 2020, Forward (the replica) was toppled by protesters following the arrest of a Black man. The fall of the statue was characterized as a strategic political move by protester Micah Le.
