Jens Jensen
Dean of Landscape Architects
Today is the anniversary of the death of the “Dean of Landscape Architects,” Jens Jensen, who died on this day in 1860.
Jens Jensen was featured in The Living Green Documentary; he was an early pioneer in the conservation movement and used art as activism. He was ahead of his time.
Jensen and Frank Lloyd Wright were contemporaries.
Jensen made over 600 Landscapes and was known as the "Poet of the Prairie." The prairie was the theme of his work, and Jensen likened the prairie to the sea. He felt there was spiritualism that rose out of the long grass and that every person on earth needed the living green. He valued the natural lands, and he recognized that nature had restorative powers.
Jensen was a maker of public parks and spaces.
Later in life, Jensen moved his family into a remote part of Wisconsin called Ellison Bay, located in northern door county. Even in 2010, the population was just 165.
It was Jens Jensen who said, "Where there is forest, there is peace." and “Trees are much like human beings and enjoy each other's company. Only a few love to be alone.”