Walter Runeberg (1838–1920) was one of the most significant sculptors of his time. During his studies in Copenhagen, Rome and Paris Runeberg adopted the neoclassical style that admired ancient Greece and Rome.
After the death of the sculptor his heirs donated a large collection of sculptures to the City of Porvoo. The collection consists of over a hundred works, including a large selection of busts, sketches for monuments and tools
Preparatory plaster casts of many well-known works by Runeberg are on display in the Walter Runeberg’s Sculpture Collection. These include the monument to Alexander II at Senate Square in Helsinki, Finland’s first large-scale marble sculpture Apollon and Marsyas, the statue of Per Brahe in Turku and Raahe, and the statue of the artist’s father J. L. Runeberg, which is erected in the Esplanadi park in Helsinki, with a smaller version in Runeberg’s Park in Porvoo.
