Sunday, December 16, 2007

Bror Anders Wikstrom's Float Designs




"Bror Anders Wikstrom designed the carnival parades of the Krewe of Proteus from 1900 to 1910. A native of Sweden, Wikstrom ran away to sea at a young age and spent a dozen years as a sailor. When he returned from his travels, he studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm and later in Paris before setting out to make his fortune in America.

In 1883 Wikstrom came to New Orleans. His entrée to the world of carnival came when he began to work as assistant to Rex's float and costume designer Charles Briton. When Briton died, Wikstrom succeeded him and continued to design for Rex, and later for Proteus, until his death in 1909."

Visit the online gallery with over a dozen other float desgins by Wikstrom at the New Orleans Public Library.

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