Children

Standing figure of the artist’s son, Lawrence, playing soldier. The boy is wearing a toy pail helmet and holding a wooden sword.

Figure or bas relief.

Profile of a little girl with curly hair. Daughter of a Chicago friend of Petersens.

Bas relief of unknown boy.

Reece Stuart III and Hamilton B. Stuart; children of Reece Stuart Jr., writer at Des Moines Register.

Bas relief portrait of first principal of Theodore Roosevelt High School, Des Moines, Iowa who died in 1934 of pneumonia. Cast by Gorham Co. Bronze Division. Unveiled April 17, 1935 at Roosevelt High School. The plaque was purchased with funds raised by students and…

Bas relief portrait of the daughter of Alfred Caldwell of Chicago, Illinois, shown sitting in a high chair.

Portrait busts or bas relief, daughters of Richard De Jong.

Portrait bust or bas relief of boy, George (1928-2008).

Bas relief portrait of the nephew of Margaret Wilhelm, age 3, and son of the James Rubey Harlan and Wilhelmina F. (Wilhelm) Harlan.

Portrait busts or bas relief of sons of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lorentzen.

Bas relief of son of Rabbi and Mrs. Eugene Mannheimer.

Bas relief of son of Rabbi and Mrs. Eugene Mannheimer.

One of three bas reliefs of the Smith family.

Portrait of son of Major Willard Stratton Wadelton, stationed at Fort Des Moines Army Post.

Daughters of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Wilcke. Mr. Wilke was a poultry husbandry professor at Iowa State College.

Bas relief portraits of the sons of close friends of Petersen’s in Des Moines, Iowa.

Portrait of two sisters, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Shloss.

Busts of six children in one bas relief. Children of Dr. A.I. Haugen.

Bas relief portrait plaque of the children of Mr. And Mrs. D.L. Holl.

Small maquette of preparatory work to be carved in Bedford limestone.

Image of mother and child are drawn on limestone in anticipation of being sculpted.

Bas relief portrait of sons of the president of North Central College, Naperville, Illinois. Joseph Edward Ed Rall (background) and David Platt Rall (foreground). Ed Rall would go on to complete groundbreaking research on the thyroid, founded one of the world’s leading…

Model of a children’s fountain which depicts children in bas relief playing and dancing around the periphery of the fountain. The drinking fountain was proposed for Brookside Park in Ames, Iowa.

The subject is the adopted son of Florence Walls, Iowa State College faculty member.

Award or medal commissioned by the Gerber Company, managed by Jostens of Owatonna, Minn.

Son of Iowa State College music professor, Mr. and Mrs. Ira Schroeder. Plaster is of young boy holding a stuffed dog.

Petersen saw children on a mule after the 1938 flood in Kentucky. A bronze casting of this piece was created after Petersen’s death.

One sculpture depicts Mary Petersen, the artist’s daughter, holding her rag doll in dejection and the other depicts her playmate–a neighborhood boy–holding his new puppy after bragging about it and telling her, You can’t play with it. Five plaster castings were sold at…

Figures of mother and two small children, believed to be from Appalachia.

Portrait bust of Doris, daughter of Harlan Miller, a Des Moines Register and Tribune columnist.

Demonstration sketch, probably done at the Iowa State Fair.

Bas relief of three female children seated on a couch.

Bas relief of two children, a boy and girl.

Bas relief portrait plaque of children of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Weiss.

Hair is pulled back into two buns worn in the middle/back of her head.

Model for sculpture and fountain.

Three toddlers, approximately life-size, sitting at the edge of a pool. Designed for grounds of College of Home Economics, MacKay Hall. Figures moved indoors inside MacKay Hall after being conserved in 1991. 1994 outdoor reproduction of reinforced concrete by Mayda Jensen,…

Bas relief plaque. Side view of three children (Dave, John, Jean) all facing to the left.

Two plaster molds commissioned by Alice M. and Jack D. Rector of their son John at five months old. A bronze was cast by the owner from one of the two molds given them by Petersen.

Bas relief, mounted on wood, of the artist’s wife and daughter. Charlotte is portrayed with short cropped hair in a side view with her daughter Mary in front of her also with short hair. The mold is of the head and shoulders.

Bas relief of two young girls in profile. Daughters of William H. Schrampfer, who helped establish the College of Business, and Frances N. Schrampfer, a teacher and counselor in the Ames Public School System.

Preliminary model of Saint Cecilia seated with children at the end of a pool. Pool was later removed by owner. Saint Cecilia was replaced with the Virgin Mary in the final version.

Model for terra cotta Madonna of the Schools at Saint Cecilia School in Ames, Iowa.

Full-length figure of Madonna holding the infant Christ. She stands on a tiered base with a wall. Two boys wearing contemporary clothing are on the left, and a girl kneels on the right. The children are looking at Mary. Installed in the summer of 1947.

Portrait bust. Andrea’s father was in the Ceramics Department.

Combined busts of two sons, Hans Hall and Neil Woods Goeppinger, at ages 8 and 3. They were created in thirteen sittings arranged by Joanne M. Hansen, former academic head of the Iowa State College Art Department.

Bust study done in preparation for Goeppinger Children.

Bust study done in preparation for Goeppinger Children.

The round plaque is designed with a center image of a woman who wears a long dress. Both arms are extended out and appear to rest on a ledge. There are smaller images along the edge and across the middle of the plaque.

Medal with the same image as the Iowa State College Alumni Medallion.

Portrait bust of the son of Louise and Harry Beckemeyer at 18 months.

Portrait bust of the son of Louise and Harry Beckemeyer at 18 months.

4-H boy with Jersey cows which was commissioned by an Iowa State College professor.

Portrait relief of the son of one of Petersen’s students.

Portrait relief

Bas relief portrait. Christian and Charlotte Petersen were godparents at Philip’s baptism.

Seated woman in profile with legs bent upward at knees. On her knees she holds a small child.

Portrait bust of Marshalltown, Iowa, child.

Memorial bas relief for ten-year-old who was struck and killed by a car. Previously installed at Roosevelt School, Ames, Iowa. Dedicated February 20, 1957.

Portrait bust of daughter of J.W. and Dorothy Fisher.

Portrait bust of son of J.W. and Dorothy Fisher at age fifteen.

Son of Joan Lange Kaas.

Nude man holds nude male child in his upraised hands. Sculpture sits on a rectangular base in a pond. Petersen’s final sculpture, modeled and signed by the artist, but cast after his death. Cast by Roman Bronze Works, Chicago, IL. Orlandi Statuary Co., Chicago, IL.

Listed as damaged in 1964 sale record.

Sculpture of the daughter of a family from Marshalltown.

Roundel of a youthful girl.

Bas relief; Anson Marston, Dean (1904-1932) of the Division of Engineering, commissioned these bas reliefs of granddaughters Alice and Lucy. The reliefs were sculpted by Petersen within Marston Hall, then known as Engineering Hall I.

Bas relief; Anson Marston, Dean (1904-1932) of the Division of Engineering, commissioned these bas reliefs of granddaughters Alice and Lucy. The reliefs were sculpted by Petersen within Marston Hall, then known as Engineering Hall I.

Clay study of mother grasping two children.

Listed as damaged in 1964 sale record.

Sculpture of Michael Schroeder, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ira Schroeder.

Girl wears 1920s style short dress with bows at shoulders; holds puppy with both arms, head bent down slightly.

Two sons of Iowa State College Professor, Walter E. Loomis.

Two sketches of an adult and child on a pedestal.

Two religious sketches of two-figure groups, man blessing kneeling man, and man with boy in front.

The Eli Lilly and Company Research Award for fundamental research in Biological Chemistry, administered by the American Chemical Society. Recto: A man underneath a tree. Verso: Study of a woman and two children.

Sketch of a boy in a t-shirt. Possibly a study for Kevin Fitzpatrick bust.

Three sketches of a baby’s face.

Birth announcement. The back of a baby, wearing a diaper and standing with a tool in her right hand, carving the words, Mary Charlotte Petersen, November 24, 1936.

Study of a Meskwaki baby wrapped tightly in skins in a beaded cradle.

Study of a Meskwaki baby wrapped tightly in skins in a beaded cradle.

Study of the central character dressed in a skin dress with shell jewelry at her neck and buckles and bracelets. Printer’s notes in pencil in margins.

Study of a woman and girl on a rearing horse. The girl is looking back at her dropped doll which is on the ground behind the horse.

Study for the illustration of a woman and girl on a rearing horse. The girl is looking back at her dropped doll which is on the ground behind the horse.

Study for an illustration of a bust view of a girl facing front holding a doll in her right hand.

Study of a Meskwaki woman carving strips of meat while her daughter hangs them near a fire to dry. Printer’s marks in pencil at bottom.

Study of a Meskwaki girl with a doll in a square at the center, with boxes at each corner with the words, Food, Clothing, Shelter and Culture and corresponding images.

Study showing a Meskwaki woman digging in the dirt with a girl holding a bowl of seeds standing to her right.

Study for an illustration of a Meskwaki woman digging in the dirt with a girl holding a bowl of seeds standing to her right.

Preparatory studies of a girl playing a game with a pole and leather bag filled with ashes; and a smaller study of the front of a hut.

Study depicting a profile view of a standing girl with her hair in a wrapped ponytail at her back. The ponytail wrappings are four long beaded strips which reach down to her ankles. She is holding a doll.

Study for an illustration depicting a profile view of a standing girl with her hair in a wrapped ponytail at her back. The ponytail wrappings are four long beaded strips which reach down to her ankles. She is holding a doll.

Study of a Meskwaki family involved in various daily activities inside their home.

Preliminary study for illustration of a Meskwaki family involved in various daily activities inside their home.

Study depicting a seated woman wrapped in a robe cooking over a fire, with a girl holding a bowl standing in the background.

Preparatory study for illustration depicting a seated woman cooking over a fire, with a girl bringing her a bowl in the background.

Study depicting a family involved in various activities in their home.

Study of a girl in profile facing left, holding a doll.

Study of three nude women and a nude young girl clustered together. One woman holds a folded American flag. Possible study for "Reclining Nudes".

Study of a Meskwaki family walking along a trail through the hills toward a village where people are waiting and waving.

Studies for the book "Cha-Ki-Shi". Top study shows a Meskwaki family involved in daily activities in their home. Bottom study shows a woman stirring a pot which is hanging over a fire and a girl standing in the background holding a bowl.

Preparatory study of a rearing horse with two riders. Rough preparatory study for "Cha-Ki-Shi loses her doll".

Studies of the central character of the book "Cha-Ki-Shi". The top study shows a profile of a Meskwaki girl with a braid facing to the right. The bottom one shows the same girl facing forward with long earrings and a necklace.

Concept study for the cover of the book "Cha-Ki-Shi", with a girl wearing jewelry and a dress made of skins standing between two huts.

Studies for illustration. A) Recto: a woman cooking maple sugar over a fire near a tree, with a girl holding a bowl out to her. B) Verso: The woman sitting, in pencil with various watercolor marks and words.

Head view in profile of the artist’s daughter.

Medallion circle with a man stabbing a dog/wolf, defending a woman crouched, holding a child. Concept for medallion.

Sketch of a group of women. Depicts figures for campus entry or major amphitheater work on central campus.

Profile sketch of a small boy, Jack Beckemeyer, in preparation of a bust creation.

Sketch of a woman with four children.

Small sketch of a woman with a child at her feet.

Three figures in foreground walking toward a group of seated figures in the shade of a tree. One man stands with arms upraised in front of them with his back to the viewer either preaching or as a storyteller.

Two sketches, both cut out of a sketch book and attached to a sheet of paper. Woman seated on chair with a child on her lap at upper right. Speaking or singing man in overalls standing with his mouth open.

A scantily clad woman in profile, standing and hanging laundry on a clothesline hung between trees. A young boy watches her from the bottom right corner.

Study of a sculpture. An idea for Brookside Park fountain.

Rapid sketch of what could have been Petersen’s idea for an Ames Brookside Park Fountain, including an image of a Boy Scout.

Side and top views of an octagonal shaped fountain with bas relief panels.

Sketch of a woman comforting a child in her lap.

Sketch of a faceless woman bottle feeding a baby in her arms.

Sketch of a woman comforting a child in her lap while a young girl looks over her shoulder.

Sketch for "Charlotte and Mary" bas relief.

A twenty-page booklet with Motives by Mary, Words by Mommie, Drawings by Daddy. Includes fifteen illustrations of Mary at age three. Self-published in unknown quantity by the Petersen family for Christmas 1939.

The back of the artist’s wife seated with arm around their daughter who is turned playing with a cat. All are on a blanket.

Three studies, all are of Mary Petersen as a small child, after a bath, playing a toy piano, and with Petersen’s dog Tink. Two of them are in borders.

Seven sketches of Mary Petersen and her friends.

Sketch of a sculpture and fountain with figures, of which two have upraised arms.

Sketch of an adult and child by a three-stepped fountain pool.

Various assortment of figure motion studies for a fountain.

Sketch depicting the artist’s wife Charlotte with daughter Mary on her lap. Both are asleep in a chair.

Sketches of a sculpture with children.

The artist’s daughter wearing a dress and holding and gazing at a doll.

Preliminary study for engraving of artist’s daughter wearing a dress and holding and gazing at a doll.

Sketch of the daughter of the Petersen’s neighbors.

Sketch of Charlotte seated on a chair with a cigarette in her right hand, held up away from her daughter Mary who is reading a book on her lap.

Profile sketch of two children for portrait bas relief, a study for "JoAnn and Betty Schrampfer".

Sketch of the artist’s daughter Mary standing and looking down.

Two sketches of Mary Petersen reading and writing.

Reverse image of Charlotte, Christian and Mary Petersen standing and looking in shock at a globe on a pedestal as explosions come out of two sides.

Sketch of a little girl standing, bust of a boy, grouping of flowers, and a color study.

Studies of children playing at Iowa State’s Child Development Lab.

Study of three rectangular pools with figures.

Study of three nude children standing at the edge of a rectangular reflecting pool.

Study depicting woman and children seated and standing around a pool basin.

Studies of four figures, kneeling and holding a plant, lying down, and sitting and holding a plant.

Seven studies of children playing. When Petersen was mulling over ideas for the Home Economics fountain sculpture, his wife Charlotte suggested he observe children playing at the child development lab nursery school. He later used those ideas for the fountain proposal.

Study of three figures, central woman flanked by a teen boy and girl.

Study of a fountain and MacKay Hall.

Study of a fountain with children.

Detailed study of one of many preliminary concepts. Depicts round and rectangular pools.

Study of fountain with children. Central boy figure pulling a fish from the pool.

Top image of a cluster of children along a wall, below image a of a rectangular pool and a site plan for Home Economics Building.

Study depicting rectangular and circular pools with small children, MacKay Hall in the background.

Study of two children at play on a circular pool.

The artist’s daughter wearing winter clothes with a hood and scarf. She is on a swing.

Three children in profile.

The artist’s daughter in profile in a short-sleeved dress, with braids tied at the back of her head with ribbon.

Image of children, a World War II memorial concept.

Two sketches of Mary Petersen in braids in rectangular frames, one in profile facing right.

The artist’s daughter Mary with dutch braids in her hair.

Profile view of a mother with a baby on her lap.

Sculpture of a woman with a boy standing in front of her on a pedestal.

Sketch of standing robed figure with her hands on the shoulders of a child.

Studies of children and nun holding hands circling a three-tiered fountain, with five studies of side elevation, three from the top view, and two other details.

Studies of a religious sculpture with the holy family. Sketch of a woman with arms folded in front of her within a circle, possibly for a medallion or bas relief.

Three studies of a fountain sculpture with children and nun.

Study of the artist’s daughter Mary. A preliminary study for children of Madonna of the Schools.

Studies of two religious figures and four children around a circular pool and fountain.

Seated Virgin Mary holding Christ on her lap, with children standing near.

Virgin Mary, Jesus, and several children.

Standing Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, with children standing by her.

Five small studies of children, nuns, and a priest surrounding a pool.

Study of the artist’s daughter Mary. A preliminary study for children of "Madonna of the Schools".

Study of the artist’s daughter Mary. A preliminary study for children of "Madonna of the Schools".

Study of the artist’s daughter, Mary Petersen. A preliminary study for children of "Madonna of the Schools".

Two studies of children and a study of a rock pillar.

Five studies for monumental sculptural markers. One is a woman and the others are groups. Concepts for Campus Entry and "Conversations".

Figures leaning against a wall.

Study of a man, and a woman who is holding a child on her hip.

Study of a man, and a woman who is holding a child on her hip.

Man and a woman holding a child on her hip.

Two studies of seated woman. One study has two infants below the seated woman.

Standing Madonna with child Jesus. Recto: Transfer of image of male sowing from an adjoining page.

Robed, standing Madonna in profile with her arm and garment around a smaller figure. Both are on a pedestal.

Study of a group of people in three circles and one unrelated with a rectangular frame and children surrounding a seated figure.

Study of a man seated on a long bench wall with his arms around three children.

Study of a priest blessing a boy while another boy waits behind him. Several boys in the background.

Detailed sketch of a boy in profile.

Sketches of a sculpture of a girl playing with a dog.

Three sketches of two figures on bases. In all of them, a man is helping a young girl with a sick pet. There is also a small sketch of a plant at the center of the three groupings.

Pocket notebook sketches of the artist’s daughter, Mary.

Robed nun in habit embracing child.

Drawing made on a trip to California. Grandchildren Jane, Lee, Scott and Lynn.

Virginia Slater’s infant daughter, Regina, in her hands.

Study of man, woman, two children standing, and one being lifted up.

Religious figures, three of Christ and two of two people.

Two panel studies, one with Christ and children followers, the second is Christ preaching.

Sixteen sketches of figures in various poses, likely religious, and people kneeling.

Seated Madonna and Child atop plinth.

Studies of Christ with various gestures. One drawing references a half-circle two figure sculpture.

Five sketches of religious figures, one of a wall with eagle.

Sketch tennis player for Women’s Gymnasium (Forker Building) as well as one of Hans Christian Andersen study.

Sketch of two young boys for the "Stuart Boys" bas relief.

A sketch of the back of a child, probably the artist’s daughter Mary, wearing a skirt and shawl.

Two drawings of a child’s face.

Figure sketch of a woman draped in a long cloth and seven smaller sketches including a fountain pool. Possibly for a war memorial.

Eleven detailed sketches of a primitive man, buffalo, wolf, cat, study of hands, and mother nursing child.

Multiple sketches of the Holy Family.

Suggestions for Christmas issue cover for "Julegranen" magazine.

Bust view of a young girl with a scarf tied around her head, looking up. There is a candle to her right and two windows above her, each with three candles and three faces behind them. Concept for cover for "Julegranen" magazine.

Three sketches of three children singing in front of three candles.

Sketch of a kneeling female figure with hands on the shoulders of a child standing in front of her.

Man with two children seated on a long stone bench.

Man shooting a bow and arrow with woman crouched behind him holding a child; drawn in a rectangle.

Sketches of two children, one of whom is the artist’s daughter, Mary Petersen.

Christmas card featuring atomic imagery and the Petersen family.

Sketch of older bearded man. Circular wall designs in the background.

Two small sketches of figures on bases. One on the left is a robed female with an infant in her left arm. The one on the right is a standing figure with a bird, and a kneeling figure to his left looking at the bird. Verso: transfer image of Madonna and Child.

Three sketches with two figures in each sketch. Two sketches of a person supporting a Fallen Christ, and one sketch of two robed figures walking.

Three sketches of individuals or figural groups along with a roadway drawing.

Recto: Five sketches of variations of Virgin Mary and Jesus in different poses and one of Madonna praying with a halo. Verso: Top: Madonna with a halo and three kneeling figures in robes in front of her. Bottom: small Madonna in profile holding Jesus.

Two sketches. Top is a study of a bust of a woman with her hair up. Bottom is a plan for a bas relief, the "Stephen Lofgren Memorial", with a border around it. The bas relief has a head in the upper half and an empty box for an inscription in the bottom.

Profile of a young girl, Alice Marston, in preparation for a bas relief.

Profile of a young girl, Alice Marston, in preparation for a bas relief.

Profile of a young girl, Alice Marston, in preparation for a bas relief.

Sketch of a woman comforting a child in her lap.

Sketch of woman with upraised arm releasing a bird, child at her side.

Sketch of a young girl, Lucy Marston, face in profile in preparation for a bas relief sculpture.

Gestural sketch of a youthful girl.

Bas relief portrait of the daughter of J.C. Cunningham.

Life-size bust portraits of the sons of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Ryan.

Cast of nude man standing and holding a nude male child in his upraised hands.

One piece depicts Mary Petersen, the artist’s daughter, holding her rag doll in dejection and the other depicts her playmate–a neighborhood boy–holding his new puppy after bragging about it and telling her, You can’t play with it. Five plaster castings sold at the 1964…

Thirty-six pairs of castings of the originals were done by Pegasus Productions in 1986, by royalty arrangement with Charlotte and Mary Petersen.

Forty-two reproductions of the 1943 original were made by Foster Willey of Minneapolis, Minnesota. One was purchased for the Brunnier Art Museum, one for University Museums education program, and forty were presented as gifts to donors, Family and Consumer Sciences…

Concrete reproduction of children from the 1942 original. Concrete pigmented to terra cotta color. Casting commissioned by University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Casting done by Mayda Jensen Conservation, Omaha, Nebraska.

Seated figure of nude mother with young son standing beside her.

Two children sleeping with open book across their laps.

Girl with arms raised, ”the personifications of youth.”

Rough clay blocking study of mother and child.

Portrait bust of granddaughter of August Bang. Created when the child was 11 years old.

Image of profile of Mary Petersen has a baby with curly hair.

Bronze cast from ca. 1938 plaster original. Cast by JAM Studio, Blaine, MN. Model of a children’s fountain which depicts children in bas relief playing and dancing around the periphery of the fountain. The drinking fountain was proposed for Brookside Park in Ames, Iowa.

Bronze cast from ca. 1938 plaster original. Cast by JAM Studio, Blaine, MN. Model of a children’s fountain which depicts children in bas relief playing and dancing around the periphery of the fountain. The drinking fountain was proposed for Brookside Park in Ames, Iowa.

Plaster bas relief of young girl holding a horse toy.

Boy relief sculpture, (possibly from Joy fountain)

Depicts woman with child on lap pointing at sunrise, medical symbol is below sun, bolt in back.

Bas relief of the two children of Robert and Margaret Blumenschein who lived around the corner to Petersen on Ash Ave. in Ames, IA

Roundel of Michael Sidney Lenrow, born in Ames, in 1932, and his brother Peter Lenrow, born in Ames in 1934. Their parents were Bernard Lenrow, director of the Iowa State Players from 1932 to 1936, and Libby Lenrow.

Roundel of baby looking left.

Bust of young boy from waist up.

Petersen saw children on a mule after the 1938 flood in Kentucky. A posthumous bronze casting of this piece was created in 1969 after Petersen’s death. This mold is from that casting process.

Charlotte Petersen seated in upper left, Christian Petersen sculpting on large block lower right. Possibly a Mary figure in lower left.

Charlotte Petersen seated in upper left, possibly speaking into microphone. Christian Petersen and Mary Petersen in lower right around a lump of modeling clay.

Letter references a fine portrait of a child that was no larger than a thumbnail made in gold by chasing.

Study of a woman and two children.

Bust view of a young girl with a scarf tied around her head, looking up. Five printers proofs with layers of inks and colors. Concept for cover for "Julegranen" magazine.