Medallic Art Collector's Selection

References:   ANS 15, Baxter 125, Marqusee 65

The medal's obverse bears nude male figure seated on a bench, r., contemplating a canvas held in one hand, brush or pen in the other. Around, PENNSYLVANIA AC-ADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS; at right, FOUNDED / 1805; signed in exergue, H. LYMAN SAYEN

The reverse bears two bound laurel branches flanking inscription, THE / JENNIE SESNAN / PRIZE / IN . MEMORIAM / SARAH / CAZENOVE / ROBERTS / FOUNDED 1902

The Jennie Sesnan Prize was founded in 1902 by Elizabeth W. Roberts, who herself had been a student of the Academy and had won its Mary Smith Prize in 1880.  It was awarded for the best landscape painting at the Academy's annual exhibition and came with a generous moentary award of $100. Ms. Roberts commemorated both her late mother, Sarah Cazenove Roberts, and a model named Jennie Sesnan with whom Ms. Roberts had worked and whom she held in high regard.

The circular medal measures 44.4mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears seated female personification of Liberty at right; the other female figure with her head covered with veil is standing at left, holding a sword; at lower left is kneeling nude male figure. Around, COMMEMORATING · THE. 250 · ANNIVERSARY · OF · JEWISH · SETTLEMENT · IN · THE · UNITED · STATES ·; signed at left edge, ISIDORE KONTI SC ·

The medal's reverse bears standing draped female figure, crowned with laurel wreath, holding tablet inscribed: "1655/1905"; tree and eagle perched upon rock are at upper left; legend in Hebrew above. Signed in exergue, I K 1905

Two medals in gold were presented to the two U.S. Presidents Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt as part of a ceremony at New York's Carnegie Hall that banker and philanthropist Jacob Schiff had organized in honor of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of Jews in America.

President Cleveland's gold medal sold at auction in 2010 for $69,000.  President Roosevelt's gold medal changed hands in a private sale for an undisclosed amount.

The circular medal measures 76.1mm in diameter. Its mintage is reported as 2 pieces in gold, 36 in silver and 284 in bronze. 

Most of the information about this medal came from here.

References:   Baxter 305

The plaquette's obverse bears James MacNeill Whistler standing, facing half left, with hand on his hip. To his left, butterfly signature and inscription: JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER / PAINTER ETCHER / AVTHOR; signed at top right, V. D. Brenner

The reverse bears peacock with inscription "MESSIEURS LES ENNEMIS!"; Whistler's butterfly device at bottom right. Signed at top, V.D.Brenner Sc.

James Abbott MacNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was an American painter, etcher, and author. Today he is counted among the great American artists. In his day, he was famous for his temper and for his uncompromising attitude towards art. "Art for art's sake" was a motto he lived by. 

The plaquette's obverse depicts Whistler in a pose that indicates barely contained impatience with the portraitist, possibly even disdain.

The reverse references two stories from Whistler's life. The peacock is a reference to a commission he had received from Frederick Leyland to decorate a dining room.  Rather than making the minor changes his patron had expected, Whistler refinished the entire room, overpainting a 16th century Cordoba leather wall for which Leyland had paid £1,000. When Leyland balked at the cost and the scope of the work, Whistler included him in the design as a peacock with gold on his body and at his feet.  He also later painted him, depicting him as an anthropomorhic peacock playing the piano and titled the painting "The Gold Scab: Eruption in Frithy Lucre", a pun on Leyland's fondness for frilly shirt fronts.

The quote relates to Whistler's bitter autobiography, titled "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies." Whistler had earlier pursued a libel suit against an art critic.While he won the suit, he was not awarded the damages he had sought and the legal costs combined with his already precarious finances to drive him into bankruptcy.  All his paintings were auctioned off and—to add insult to injury—Leyland oversaw their sale.

The rectangular plaquette measures 89.7mm x 65.4mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

Gorham later manufactured a cast bronze plaque from Brenner's model.

References:   Baxter 127, Marqusee 75

The medal's obverse bears a beautifully modeled barefoot female figure, seated in rough chair, facing left, holding flowers or leaves in her hands as she seems lost in thought while looking at the surrounding gardens. Around top, THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF CHICAGO

The reverse bears a wreath of chrysanthemums surrounding engraved dedication.

The circular medal measures 69.5mm in diameter. Early medals had a clear edge and it is uncertain where they were struck. Later, the contract was awarded to the Medallic Art Company and they edge-marked the medals accordingly.  They also struck the medal in at least one other metal (nickel silver).

References:   Marqusee 344-345

References:   ANS 16, Baxter 128, Marqusee 77

The medal's obverse bears upper body of a Native American morphing into a corn cob, with figure's clothes turning into the cob's husk.  Around, ··· THE NATIONAL CORN EXPOSITION ··· / OMAHA 1908

The reverse bears grain stalks arranges in wreath shape around center field with legend: Honor Award / to

The National Corn Exposition of 1908 was the brain child of Omaha businessman and civic leader Gurdon W. Wattles. He had already been the force behind the Trans Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898.  The exposition ran from December 9 to December 19, 1908, and attracted over 7,731 exhibition entries.

The circular medal was struck in gold-plated bronze. I know neither artist nor mint or mintage. Any additional information would be deeply appreciated.

The medal's obverse bears standing female in gap between two half-walls, left arm resting on wall, right arm holding painter's pallet.Around top, THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

The reverse bears oak and laurel branches before view of Art Institute building. Around top, THE NORMAN WAIT HARRIS PRIZE; across center, AWARDED TO / CLIFFORD ADDAMS / 1926; signed at bottom, V·D·Brenner Sc.

The medal was awarded for best painting by an American artist. This medal's recipient, Clifford Addams (1876-1942), was an American painter and printmaker who studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, where he won the coveted Cresson Scholarship to study abroad. He went to France where he became a student of James McNeill Whistler and married fellow artist Inez Bate. He volunteered for service in the Royal Navy during World War I and returned to the U.S.in 1920. He became a prominent etcher and practiced his art in New York City.  He died in his studio in Greenwich Village in 1942.

The medal's obverse bears a striking resemblance in design to Hermon A. MacNeil's Standing Liberty quarter of 1916. It has been speculated that this medal inspired MacNeill's design.

The circular medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck in silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   Baxter 138, MACo 1909-002

This was the 25th official medal issued by the American Numismatic Society.

The obverse bears nude female seated, holding a mirror but turning face away from it. To left, in four lines, 1909; to right, THE / NEW / THEATRE / OF / NEW / YORK / (ANS logo)

The reverse bears a full length female figure standing, holding a tablet from which is suspended a garland. A crtain at each side is drawn back by a nude child; two Roman lamps below. Incuse at bottom, 1909.

Edge is numbered.

This medal was issued by the American Numismatic Society (ANS) to commemorate the opening of the New Theatre in New York. The New Theatre, located at 62nd Street and Central Park West opened on November 6, 1909. It was noted for its fine architecture but due to poor acoustics and an inconvenient location it was financially unsuccessful. The theater was ultimately demolished in 1931.

Although the medal is dated 1909, it was not actually made available to members until 1916. Barbara Baxter comments that

"... the medal commemorating the opening of the New Theatre in York, with its highly decorative figural compositions and sinuous lines, perfectly captures the spirit of the Gilded Age."

The medal comes in two sizes, one measuring 77mm in diameter, the other 106mm. It was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. The reported mintage is 50 pieces in bronze for the larger size, at least 1 in gold, 50 in silver and 50 in bronze for the smaller size.

References:   ANS 25, Baxter 220, MACo 1909-003, Marqusee 323

The medal's obverse bears a nude male figure, maybe Hercules, wrestling a powerful steer by the horns.

The medal's reverse bears perched eagle before diminuitive buildings.  Across lower half, ALLEN GEWALTEN ZUM / TRUTZ SICH ERHALTEN / NIMMER SICH BEUGEN / KRÄFTIG SICH ZEIGEN / RUFET DIE ARME / DER GOETTER / HERBEI; signed above exergue, R BOSSELT

The poem on the reverse is the second verse of Goethe's "Cowardly Thoughts." While the first verse lists negative behaviors resulting in disaster, the second verse provides positive patterns.  It translates roughly to:

To persist, despite all powers arrayed against you,
to never bow down,
to always show strength,
will raise the arms of the gods on your behalf.

This is a beautiful and relatively rare medal.  The interplay between the dark patina and the modeling of the muscles gives the medal an unusual depth. The medal was used as an award by the German section at the International Exhibition in Brussels in 1910.  Bosselt seemed to be en vogue at that time.  His Athena graced the reverse of the American Numismatic Society's medal in the same year.

The circular medal measures 65mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Carl Poellath Company of Schrobenhausen, Germany.