Nick Engelbert was a Wisconsin dairy farmer when a sprained ankle led him to make one concrete sculpture; 15 years later, his yard held more than 40 statues

For most people, a period of enforced rest would mean little more than boredom. Austrian-born Wisconsin dairy farmer Nick Engelbert, however, is said to have begun an artistic project while recovering from a sprained ankle in the 1930s. He made his first concrete sculpture while recuperating, and over the next 15 years transformed the grounds of his farm near Hollandale into a landscape filled with more than 40 sculptures.

According to the Kohler Foundation, what began as a personal pastime eventually became Grandview, an unusual folk-art environment combining concrete, gardens, architecture and found materials. Engelbert covered much of his farmhouse with concrete decorated with stones, shells, glass shards, beads, buttons and pieces of ceramic tableware. His creations drew on history, mythology, patriotism, fairy tales and everyday life.

From dairy farmer to self-taught artist


Nick Engelbert was born Engelbert Koletnik in Austria in 1881. After serving in the Austro-Hungarian army, he left Europe and eventually travelled to the United States. He married Katherine Thoni, a Swiss immigrant, in 1913, and the couple settled in Wisconsin. In 1922, they bought a seven-acre farm outside Hollandale, where they raised four children and operated a dairy farm.

According to the John Michael Kohler Arts Centre, Engelbert's artistic transformation was influenced by a visit to the nearby Dickeyville Grotto, an elaborate Wisconsin site known for structures decorated with colourful stones, glass and other objects. The experience showed him the creative possibilities of concrete beyond its conventional use as a building material. He subsequently began experimenting with the material himself, eventually developing his own technique for embedding decorative objects into concrete surfaces.

According to local accounts, Engelbert made his first sculpture while recovering from a sprained ankle in the 1930s. Engelbert did not treat it as a one-time endeavour; instead, he kept building on the work. The project grew from individual sculptures to the farmhouse itself and eventually to the entire property. This type of work is now known as an “art environment,” in which an artist turns a house or outdoor space into a single work of art.

A concrete landscape of stories and memories

Engelbert had created over 40 sculptures out of concrete in his yard by 1950. The sculptures drew on themes from his life and imagination. There were patriotic symbols, animal sculptures, mythical elements and figures, as well as characters from popular fairy tales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Other figures that he sculpted include a Viking riding a boat and an organ grinder, among others.

Even the farmhouse helped make the sculpture garden unique. However, the decoration of his creation was not limited to Engelbert's efforts. His wife Katherine created colourful flower beds around the sculptures, turning the grounds into a carefully arranged landscape rather than a mere collection of statues. Some of Engelbert's sculptures also carried a humorous political message. One scene showed Uncle Sam trying to plough a field with both a donkey and an elephant, symbolising America's two major political parties.

From neglected farmyard to preserved landmark

Ultimately, Engelbert stopped making sculptures. He received a set of oil paints for his 70th birthday and taught himself to paint. In his later years, he painted Grandview, places he had visited and scenes from everyday life. Engelbert died in 1962 at the age of 81. After his death, the property was sold and gradually fell into disrepair. By the latter half of the 20th century, many of the sculptures had weathered badly or disappeared. When the Kohler Foundation purchased the property in 1991, several sculptures were already broken or badly deteriorated.

Restoration involved more than repairing the concrete. Historical photographs from Engelbert's relatives and friends helped conservators understand how the sculptures and gardens were originally arranged. Some sculptures were restored, while others were recreated. In 1997, the Kohler Foundation gave the property to the Pecatonica Educational Charitable Foundation, which now manages it. The site has since been acknowledged to be significant to Wisconsin's self-taught and vernacular arts traditions.

In 2023, the Nick and Katherine Engelbert House along with its Grandview surroundings were placed in Wisconsin's State Register of Historic Places. What began with a sprained ankle became a lifelong creative project. The creator did not initially aim at building a museum or a sculpture garden. He kept creating until the farm itself became a work of art that preserved his family's immigrant story in the Wisconsin landscape.