James Lee Hansen, 97, has created over 700 works of art during his long career, including several architectural commissions

VANCOUVER – On Friday (Oct. 28), the city of Vancouver celebrated Pacific Northwest artist James Lee Hanson with a ribbon cutting to commemorate the public art installation of 34 historic sculptural panels designed by Hansen 60 years ago. 

The panels, now permanently displayed at the Esther Street Underpass along a popular thoroughfare between the city center and the Vancouver Waterfront, were commissioned in 1962 to grace the original façade of the Clark County Title Company building that opened in 1963 in downtown Vancouver. The five-foot, white Portland cement square panels were salvaged prior to the building’s demolition in 2019 with funding from the city of Vancouver’s Culture, Arts & Heritage Grant Program and iQ Credit Union.

“I want to thank the community organizations, business partners and City employees who have helped make it possible to put these panels back on display in Vancouver,” Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said. “Their work supports our City’s efforts to preserve historical legacy and has made our community an even more beautiful place to call home.”

Hansen was also honored by State Representative Sharon Wylie during the ceremony. Rep. Wylie introduced a house resolution in January 2022 to recognize and appreciate Hansen and his unique contribution to preserving, honoring, and celebrating the creativity, innovation, and richness of the arts of the past, the present, and the future.

“My biggest gratitude of all goes to my late wife Annie and my present wife Jane, who have experienced by obsession regarding sculpture with patient understanding,” Hansen said. “I would not be here except for them.”

Prior to being installed, the panels were previously stored on city property and were cleaned and resealed, a process that took about three months, to protect sculptural integrity. The next step – in December 2021 – was to connect the panels to their frames and then attach the frames to the retaining walls where they’re on display. The final step, completed Oct. 4, was re-painting the panels and applying anti-graffiti coating. Cost for the entire project was $113,000.

About James Lee Hansen

James Lee Hansen, 97, has created over 700 works of art during his long career, including several architectural commissions. His sculptures are part of the permanent collections of several art museums in the region. Locally, his work can be seen at the Vancouver library branch on C Street, the Clark College campus, the downtown Portland Transit Mall and Gresham Town Fair.

He attended the Portland Art Museum School (now the Pacific Northwest College of Art). After graduating in 1950, he opened Burnt Bridge Studio on 39th Street in Vancouver, where State Route 500 meets Interstate 5 today. In the 1970s, Hansen sold his Vancouver studio property to the state to make way for construction of State Route 500 and built Daybreak Studio in northern Clark County, where he still resides.

Information provided by city of Vancouver.