Harold Carsten Hanson Collection

Harold C. Hanson
Preus Library, Luther College
1994

Harold Carsten Hanson (LC 1940) was born September 1, 1917, in Chicago, IL. After early schooling at the Carl Schurz High School (1931-1935) and night school at North Park College, both in Chicago, he attended Luther College from 1937-1940, graduating with a BA degree in biology. He received his MS in Wildlife Management from the University of Wisconsin in 1943 and his PhD in Ecology and Physiology from the University of Illinois in 1958. Dr. Hanson died March 17, 2003, in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 85.

Dr. Hanson’s major research focused on wild geese, specifically Canada geese. He received the first research grant awarded by the Arctic Institute of North America. He was a Guggenheim fellow from 1965-1967. During his career, he was part of numerous field studies and expeditions to Greenland, the central Canadian Arctic and Hudson Bay region, and Mexico. He was an adjunct Professor of Zoology at the University of Illinois for much of his working life and also worked for many years as a wildlife specialist for the Illinois Natural History Survey, retiring as a Professional Scientist in 1992.

Dr. Hanson published more than fifty scientific papers and wrote several monographs. His most noteworthy contribution was the rediscovery of the giant Canada goose (Branta canadensis maxima) which was believed to be extinct for over three decades. His book, The Giant Canada Goose, documents this finding. This title plus his other book, The Biogeochemistry of Blue, Snow, and Ross’ Geese, received The Wildlife Society’s Terrestrial Publication Award in 1967 and 1978 respectively. In 1970, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Luther College. During the last 13 years of his life, he worked on a multi-volume treatise, "The White-cheeked Geese" that examines the identification of various races of Canada geese and correlates geology, climate and Canada goose evolution.

The Harold C. Hanson Collection at Luther College is comprised primarily of 29 Inuit carvings but also includes three paintings and one print. The collection of carvings was donated to Luther College in 1993 in honor of his deceased wife, Arlone Kruegel Hanson (LC 1939-1941) whom he married in 1943. It was during his numerous trips to Canada and the Arctic from the early 1950’s through the mid 1970’s that he acquired the carvings. Proper identification of the carvings was accomplished with the assistance of personnel from the Inuit Art Section, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, in Ottawa, Canada, and by Prof. George Swinton, acknowledged Inuit art authority, of Winnipeg, Canada.

The carvings in the collection were acquired by Dr. Hanson during a transitional period in Inuit culture. Prior to the 1950’s, Inuit carving was for the most part a functional or recreational activity. Increased acculturation following World War II resulted in a shift from "traditional" to contemporary" carvings intended as trade objects, until today carving is almost exclusively an art-for-sale activity marketed through venues such as the Hudson’s Bay Company, galleries and museums, and artists’ cooperatives. What has not changed is the desire on the part of the carver to achieve a likeness, real or imagined, which draws from the environmental context of Arctic life. Most of the works in the Hanson Collection are carved from soapstone with the use of metal handsaws, drills, knives and files. Additional materials include walrus ivory and caribou antler. While carving is a primary form of Inuit art, it should be noted that these works represent a diverse group of people whose individual visions also find expression through printmaking, drawing, painting, and ceramics.

Other works in the Hanson Collection are a painting by the British artist, Peter Scott, son of famed Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, which depicts Canada geese in flight. Two other paintings are by the Norwegian-American artists, Emil Biorn ("Viking at Signal Fire on Mountain Top") and Karl Ouren ("Harbor at Lofoten Islands"). Both artists were Chicago residents for many years. The print, by David Roberts, is a well-known image entitled "Petra." These works were donated in 1993 and 1994.

After his death, Dr. Hanson's personal library was also donated to Preus Library. Consisting of books relating to the Arctic, ornithology and indigenous Canadian groups, the collection also contained books on Norwegian-American history and culture.

Ref: Résumé Harold C. Hanson, 1970; Swinton, George, Sculpture of the Inuit. 3rd ed. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart, 1999; Obituary, Harold Carsten Hanson, March 2003.

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Updated 11/16/2007