Spirit of Commerce Statue

Designed by German artist Gustav Haug

Spirit of Commerce was created by German artist Gustav Haug and is located in Jackson Park, which is on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This zinc sculpture is 15 feet (4.6 metres) tall and sits on a red granite pedestal near the park's lagoon. It is the oldest public sculpture in Milwaukee.

The statue depicts an allegorical female figure with a quill in her right hand and a rudder in her left one. At her feet, is a bag of money. On the front of the pedestal, an engraved inscription reads, "Erected by the South Division Civic Association June 26, 1909." On the rear of the pedestal, an engraved inscription reads, "May this statue ever be a silent witness to the progress and growth of Milwaukee."

Haug was born in Magdeburg, Germany in 1836. He studied sculpture in Berlin and Paris. In 1864, he settled in Milwaukee where he became involved in creating ornamental custom carving for the city's second courthouse (1873–1939), private residences of Alexander Mitchell and John Plankinton, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He died in 1887 at age 51.