Forward (statue)

A souvenir pamphlet from the Exposition described the statue as representing "a female figure standing upon the prow of a boat, the figurehead of which is 'Old Abe.'

The boat is surging through the water, and the figure, poised gracefully but firmly upon the prow, stretches forth the right hand, while the left clasps the American flag to its bosom.

[5][6] On June 23, 2020, Forward (the replica) and a Hans Christian Heg statue were toppled by protesters following the arrest of a Black Lives Matter activist.

[11] The state of Wisconsin received a grant of $30,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities the following October towards the expense of repairing of both the Heg and Forward statues.

The statues were taken to Detroit where restoration was done by Venus Bronze Works Inc.[12][13] The total cost of renovation was reported to be over $80,000, of which $60,000 was covered by federal grants.