102539 | UNITED STATES & GREAT BRITAIN. Charles Darwin bronze Medal.

102539  |  UNITED STATES & GREAT BRITAIN. Charles Darwin bronze Medal. Issued 1989. Society of Medalists series: issue 119 (57mm x 72mm, 199 g, 2h). By N. d'Alton Moss for MACo in Danbury, CT.

 

Bust of Darwin left, in a very rough, textured manner // Giant tortoise left. Edge: SOM#119–N–MOSS 2500 LTD ED.

 

Alexander SOM 119.1. As Made. Alluring olive-bronze surfaces, with some deeper hues in the recesses. Includes original informational pamphlet of issue.

 

A first for the Society of Medalists, this medal was the first sculpted by a non-American, as it was designed by Nicola d'Alton Moss, born in High Wycombe northwest of London. She was inspired to celebrate the famous evolutionist in 1982 (the centennial of his death) for the upcoming sesquicentennial of his publication of The Voyage of the Beagle in 1989–the year in which this medal was produced. She first crafted his portrait in clay and, in her own words, "...an earthy fossil-like character, and then when I made a cast in plaster the relief took on a bony quality." The resulting work presents a study in contrasts, with the cruder nature on the side of Darwin, and a heavily refined, almost polished nature to that of the tortoise.

 

Upload: 1 August 2023.

 

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