Artwork copyright James Lee Hansen. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2024.

Artwork copyright James Lee Hansen. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2024.

Artwork copyright James Lee Hansen. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2024.

Artwork copyright James Lee Hansen. Original 1977 installation. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission (black and white photo).

Artwork copyright James Lee Hansen. Original 1977 installation. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission (black and white photo).

Artwork copyright James Lee Hansen. Original 1977 installation. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission (black and white photo).

The Guardian, 1965

James Lee Hansen
American (born 1925)

Location: Clark College, Vancouver

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The Guardian is a cast bronze sculpture created by artist James Hansen. It is part of his series of abstract figurative "Guardians." He refers to this series of work as "the symbolic guardians of cultural systems, both political and religious. They are the primary images inherent in the constructs of civilization. Through all human history, their various forms are the substantive imperatives: a sublimation of spiritual forces, the quintessential cultural artifact of human passage." The Clark College community wished specifically to acquire a sculpture by artist James Hansen, who has lived most of his life in Vancouver, Washington. State-appropriated funds were not enough to purchase 'The Guardian.' Dedicated and enthusiastic Clark College students and faculty hosted a dinner, dance and art auction event to raise the remaining funds.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with .

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Celebrated artist James Lee Hansen creates figurative and abstract sculptures. He has lived and worked in the Battle Ground area of Southwestern Washington since the 1950s. Hansen was born in Tacoma, Western Washington in 1925. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1939-45) in the South Pacific. He used the GI Bill to study art at the Portland Art Museum School (now the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon) and graduated in 1950. Bronze sculptures quickly became his main focus, and he built his own foundry and developed a hands-on approach to bronze casting. Hansen’s sculptures are included in many museum collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and the Portland Art Museum (Oregon). He also taught at Portland State University for 26 years, among other universities, and was an influential teacher and mentor.