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May 6, 2003

Augustana Senior Wins Spitznagel Medal for Art

SIOUX FALLS - Sarah Hellstrom, a senior from Worthington, Minn., received the Harold Spitznagel Medal for Achievement in Art during a reception for Augustana Senior Art Show participants on Friday, May 3, at the Eide/Dalrymple Gallery.

Hellstrom is the daughter of Kim and Nancy Hellstrom. She is majoring in art and business administration and will graduate cum laude later this month.

The award is named in honor of Harold Spitznagel, who was born on December 7, 1896, in Sioux Falls. Spitznagel earned a bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1925, and in 1930 started a one-man practice in Sioux Falls. Today, the one-man business has grown into the TSP Group Inc. The Spitznagel Partners encompasses five Midwestern states with eight offices and more than 200 professionals offering architecture, engineering, and construction.

Out of Spitznagel's relationship with Augustana art professors, Robert Aldern and Carl Grupp, and his connection to the art world, came the idea for a medal to be awarded to outstanding students recognizing their achievement in art.

The late Ogden Dalrymple was the designer of the cast for the original medal. The front side of the medallion incorporates the religious symbolism of the old and new testaments. The Shield of David, or the equilateral triangle, is used in temples throughout the world and denotes the Holy Trinity. The cross is the sign of Christ, and the circle, triangle and the square are basic art forms. The reverse side depicts the “Tools of the Master Builder,” or the instruments used by architects.

The medal is sanctioned to be given by a representative of TSP to a recipient at the Augustana College Senior Art Show, only if the art professors believe the student, or students, qualify.