Description
UNITED STATES Sesquicentennial OFFICIAL Award Medal, 1926. Marqusee 235. 76mm. Gilt Bronze. Albert Laessle, Sc. (1877-1954), Struck by the Bailey, Banks and Biddle Company of Philadelphia, PA. About Uncirculated, with minor spotting on the eagle, accentuated only by the high-resolutions scans, and not visible to the naked eye. Obverse: depicts an eagle in a nest with two eggs, with an image of Independence Hall and a rising sun in the background. Signed below nest, right: ALBERT LAESSLE. Reverse: stylized wreath with legend around: Sesquicentennial International Exposition Philadelphia 1776-1926. Inscribed within wreath: MEDAL/ OF AWARD; with rising sun below.Included with the medal is a COPY of the original descriptive card of issue. "The Significance of the Design" was described on the card:"The Spirit of America, awaking to the full potentialities of its 150 years of its independence stands watchful, resourceful, protective, symbolized by the alert and decorative form of a young bald eagle, the mother of freedom who guards the home nest of peace and prosperity.To stress the fecundity of America and its promise for the future the sculptor has purposely chosen the mother eagle and has placed within the nest the eggs which are the symbol of continuing productivity.The nest itself fashioned of oaks, bespeaks the strength of the American home and the American nation, while, in the background, whence sprang the eagle of freedom, Independence Hall is outlined against the rising sun of American prosperity, happiness, peace and contentment."Thank you for looking! Please feel free to contact me with any questions.Albert Laessle (1877-1954) was an American sculptor and educator, who was primarily known as an animalier sculptor. He taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for more than twenty years.Unlike many animalier sculptors, who focused their attention on mammalian subjects, Laessle specialized in reptiles and birds, often depicting lizards, turtles, frogs, and barn fowl. He modeled realistic and detailed animals at close to life-size and viewed his animal sculptures as representing the conditions of man; each animal, whether alone or coupled, seems to possess a narrative purpose. There is little of Laessle's work circulating today, as he was not a prolific artist, and he created rather small, limited editions. In addition to his 1934 Society of Medalists America-Abundance (No.10) medal, Laessle created two other medals: Concord Art Association Medal, 1924 and this Sesquicentennial International Exposition Award Medal, 1926.Laessle received numerous awards, including the J. Sanford Saltus Award (1951) from the American Numismatic Society, the Stewardson Prize, and the Fellowship Medal from the Pennsylvania Academy . He also received the Gold Medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Gold Medal at the 1926 Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition, the Widener Medal, and the James E. McClees Prize. He was a member of the National Sculpture Society, the National Academy of Design, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Societe des Amis de la Medaille de Art. Laessle's work is recognized in many private collections and museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.Please see " My Collections " for recently listed and sold American and French medallic art! I have a large collection of bronze bas-reliefs, plaques, medallions, and medals that I will be listing this month by the following sculptors: Chester Beach, Victor David Brenner, Anthony de Francisci, John Flanagan, James Earle Fraser, Laura Gardin Fraser, Daniel Chester French, Henry Hering, Anna Vaughan Hyatt-Huntington, Charles Keck, Julio Kilenyi, Frederick MacMonnies, Hermon A. MacNeil, Paul Manship, Bela Lyon Pratt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Louis St. Gaudens, and many others, including prominent French sculptors/engravers
