page_title: Jorgen Dreyer
section_title: Major sculptures (1925–1939)
hierarchical_section_title: Jorgen Dreyer / Major sculptures (1925–1939)
caption_attribution_description: English: This lioness was sculpted by Norwegian-born Jorgen C. Dreyer in 1925 for the Kansas City Life Insurance building, completed in 1924.
context_page_description: Jørgen Christian Dreyer was a Norwegian-born American sculptor. He emigrated to the United States in 1903 and worked as a professor of sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute from 1907 to 1909. In his career Dreyer created a number of monumental sculptures, some of which are located in Kansas City, Missouri. His major works include: Life Drift; The Goddess of Dawn; Sphinxes; Biology and Chemistry; Lionesses; The Message; Bust of Sir Carl Busch; Mercury, god of commerce; and Bust of Major General Sterling Price.
context_section_description: Two of Dreyer's most visible sculptures are the pair of lionesses in front of the Kansas City Life Insurance building, located at 3520 Broadway. Dreyer viewed lions at morning and evening hours at the Swope Park Zoo, now named the Kansas City Zoo, and chose the lioness because it did not have the mane to hide the fluid body lines.  He preferred to see the lions moving, as that gave him more visibility into their muscle structures.  Flaws were found in the cast of one of the lionesses and had to be re-cast three times.  This caused delays in the sculpture schedule, and the building was dedicated in 1924 without the sculptures.  The lionesses were carved in pink, black and white granite and were installed on April 6, 1925.
  In 1925, Dreyer was commissioned by the widow of U.S. Representative William P. Borland to place a bas relief sculpture on the gravestone of Rep. Borland in Elmwood Cemetery, Block C, Lot 137 in Kansas City.  The finished marker was unveiled on November 11, 1925. The bas relief is gone, but Dreyer's engraving of Borland's signature remains.
  Perhaps his largest works are the pair of sphinxes at the Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City. Each sphinx weighed 20,000 pounds, and Dreyer put the face of a woman on each.  On the back of each sphinx he placed Masonic symbols.  These were completed in 1928.
  In 1931 Dreyer sculpted some marble figures for the Rose Hill Cemetery Mausoleum, and in 1932 he installed a sculpture of the Goddess of Dawn for the new Hotel Phillips. This sculpture is 11 feet tall, and is located on the second floor landing of the main staircase in the lobby.
  In 1933 Dreyer was again commissioned by Kansas City Life Insurance to complete a sculpture of Mercury.  Dreyer chose to copy the Giambologna "Flying Mercury" at the Bargello National Museum in Florence, Italy (1580), but instead of using the breath of a zephyr to suspend Mercury (per Giambologna), Dreyer used a wave as he did with Goddess of Dawn.  Inscribed in the circumference of the pedestal is a quote from Horace, Satires 2.6: "NO MORE I ASK, O SON OF MAIA, BUT THAT YOU MAKE THESE GIFTS MY OWN FOR LIFE".  Mercury ("SON OF MAIA") in this context is a bringer of good fortune.  Mercury is in the lobby of the main Kansas City Life Insurance building, surrounded by the murals of fellow Art Deco muralist Daniel MacMorris.
  In 1935 Dreyer was commissioned to create a medal for the Golden Jubilee of Bishop Thomas F. Lillis of Kansas City. In 1936 Dreyer was awarded a commission for five bronze medallions that are in the lobby of the Jackson County Courthouse.  These bronze and white metal medallions represent Faith, Authority, Justice, Aspiration and Progress.
  The United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned Dreyer in 1939 to create a bust of Major General Sterling Price. It is in the Visitor Center of the Battle of Lexington State Historic Site in Lexington, Missouri.
caption: Lioness sculpture by Dreyer, completed in 1925
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