The uniface medallion's obverse shows nude, winged female figure with hammer and chisel.
This medal is still awarded during the National Sculpture Society's annual exhibition. It is awarded in Gold, Silver and Bronze, corresponding with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners. The Society's March 1, 1966 meeting minutes state that
"Charlotte Dunwiddie [Chair of the Exhibition Committee] asked to establish three medals: one gold, one silver and one bronze, as awards for the annual exhibition. After some discussion, a Motion was made, Seconded, and Carried, approving it. The awards to be given to sculpture in the rounds, as well as to reliefs which do not fall under the other prizes for medals or small bas-reliefs.”
In 1978, Bruno Mankowski won the Gold Medal for his 32" high bronze “Seated Figure.”
The medal bears the NSS' old logo (it was changed in 2015). The logo is based on the sculpture ‘Into the Unknown’ by Hermon Atkins MacNeil which can be admired in the sculpture park at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. While MacNeil cannot possibly have sculpted the medal, his sculpture is certainly the inspiration for the design. I do not know whether he converted it to a medallic design himself or whether another sculptor did that after his death.
The medallion measures 98.2mm in diameter. No mintage is reported. Many thanks to Elizabeth Helms from the NSS for her assistance in documenting this beautiful medallion.
