Edith Grøn (19 February 1917 – 15 March 1990) was a Danish-born Nicaraguan sculptor. She is considered to be the most significant 20th-century Nicaraguan sculptor. Her works are featured in public spaces throughout Nicaragua and abroad.
Early life
Edith Dorthe Grøn was born on 19 February 1917 in Copenhagen, Denmark to Sofie (née Rasmussen) and Vilhelm Andersen Grøn. When she was 6 years old, in 1923, her family, which included her brother Niels, migrated to Nicaragua because her mother had been advised a warmer climate would help her arthritis. Her mother's illness coupled with the economic depression which existed in Denmark after World War I, prompted Vilhelm to bring the family to Central America. The family came with an immigration company which had contracted with the Nicaraguan government to resettle up to 2,000 Danish families in the country.{ { sfn|La Estrella de Nicaragua|2014}} One hundred settlers came in her migration group, which initially settled on a farm in the mountainous area around Matagalpa. After moving about the country several times, the family finally settled in Managua, where Vilhelm owned and operated a restaurant known as La Casa Dinamarca ("The Denmark House"). From an early age, she enjoyed producing artworks, first with paint and then clay.
Grøn completed both her primary and secondary education at the Colegio Bautista in Managua. In 1931, Grøn was involved in a serious car accident, when her father lost control of the car, and she flew through the windshield, breaking all the bones in her face. After numerous surgeries, performed by missionary doctors visiting from North America, she recovered, but remained scarred. In 1942, she entered the National School of Fine Arts (), studying under Genaro Amador Lira, along with students like Roberto de la Selva and Fernando Saravia. In 1943, Grøn won the Rubén Darío Art Prize, for her work Amo Muerto, which was then exhibited at the National Palace of Culture. The sculpture depicted a dog mourning at the grave of its young owner. Wanting to further her studies, Grøn moved to Mexico City in 1944 to study at the Academy of San Carlos with . She studied Classic Arts and Architecture and in 1944, exhibited El Puntigado, which received notice in the Mexican press and secured her a scholarship at Columbia University in New York City. The sculpture was the figure of a crying child who had been whipped as a form of punishment. In 1946, she entered Columbia, studying ceramics and sculpture, completing her studies in 1948 and returning to Nicaragua.
Career
From 1940 to 1952, Grøn was in a relationship with Silvio Turcios, known as Bill. He was a boxer and fireman, and because of his physique, became her model for several sculptures, including the muscles for the athletes of El Relevo. According to her biographer, José Vivó, The Relay is known internationally as a symbol for the transfer of wisdom and knowledge. Grøn held her first solo exhibit at the National Palace of Culture in 1953, exhibiting large Costumbrismo sculptures of figures and several nudes. For the centennial celebration of the Battle of San Jacinto, she sculpted , which was installed at the Hacienda San Jacinto in 1956. In 1958, she produced a sculpture of the head of journalist Gabry Rivas and that same year, she was decorated with the Order of Rubén Darío by the government of Nicaragua. The following year, she completed a monument dedicated to mothers, commissioned by historian Julián N. Guerrero. The statue, Monumento a la Madre was installed in Boaco.