| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
HAS A FOLK ART SITE IN THE YARD CALLED "GRAND VIEW." NOW A MUSEUM RUN BY THE PECATONICA EDUCATIONAL CHARITABLE FOUNDATION OF HOLLANDALE, WI.
CONSULT KATHRYN FRANKS, "PRESERVING VERNACULAR ART ENVIRONMENTS IN THE LANDSCAPE: A CASE STUDY OF NICK ENGELBERT'S GRANDVIEW, HOLLANDALE, WISCONSIN," M.A. THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN--MADISON (1998) FOR COMPLETE HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE PROPERTY. LOCATED IN UW-MADISON MEMORIAL LIBRARY THESIS STACKS.
Scattered throughout the property are approximately twenty-one sculptures, decorative posts, and column-and-chain fences. The central attribute possessed by nearly all of this artwork consists of painted mortar or mortar inlaid with pebbles, shells, porcelain shards, and glassware fragments. Many of the sculptures represent animals; however, others portray people, plants, and fountains.
The creator of this artwork was Nick Englebert, who was born in Austria in 1881. Englebert immigrated to the United States in 1908. In 1914, Englebert and his family moved to Hollandale where he worked a variety of jobs. Seven years later, he purchased the subject property, which consisted of a house (built in 1910), barn, and tool shed. Englebert began his artistic pursuits in the early 1930s when his children began to move out of the house and he entered into semi-retired status. Eventually, the sculpturework began to dominate the property and it attracted numerous visitors who toured the grounds and often enjoyed picnics. Englebert ceased sculpting in the 1950s and moved to California in 1961. Soon thereafter, the property was sold to a Chicago couple for use as a summer home and the condition of the sculptures began to decline. In 1991, Grandview was acquired by the Kohler Foundation, Inc. who then sponsored a complete professional restoration of the house, artwork, and grounds. In 1997, Grandview was given to the Pecatonica Educational Charitable Foundation and, as of 2001, was maintained as a museum. |
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| Bibliographic References: | HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MOSCOW, THOMPSON AND FAUPA, 1976.
BLANCHARDVILLE BLADE-ATLAS 6/9/1994.
DODGEVILLE CHRONICLE 7/14/1994.
Blanchardville Blade Atlas 3/27/1997.
Franks, M.A. Thesis, 1998.
Architecture and History Survey. March 2001. Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd.
From Mining to Farm Fields to Ethnic Communities: Buildings and Landscapes of Southwestern Wisconsin.
Ed. Anna Vemer Andrzejewski , Arnold R. Alanen and Sarah Fayen Scarlett for “Nature + City: Vernacular Buildings and Landscapes of the Upper Midwest,” 2012 Meeting of the Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) in Madison, Wisconsin. |
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