artist.shtml biography eugene-daub

Artist Name


birthPicture of Daub
parents
educationPennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
awardsJ. Sanford Saltus Award (1991),
ANA Award for lifetime Achievement in Medallic Art
websitewww.dfsculpturestudios.com

Eugene Daub is recognized as one of today's foremost U.S. sculptors. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and taught there as well. He has been an instructor at the Scottsdale Artists' School, and designer of the first Philadelphia Liberty Medal, which that city awards every year to a champion of world peace.

Daub describes what relief sculpture means to him:

"I simply love form: people, plants, animals, and architecture. As I observe it all, I wish to put my own slant on it, to reinvent it, with my own change of emphasis. For me the richest vein to mine, is the zone between 3D form and drawing; relief sculpture is that zone, it achieves that symbiotic relationship that captures and arrests the image at its finest moment. It's pure theater, Harness form; compose it through your special lens that allows you to See the picture you want, through composition and perspective. Then modulate that with high and low relief. The only thing missing is music."

In 1985, Daub won first place in an international competition for the design of the Statue of Liberty Medal, issued by the American Numismatic Society. His work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum, and in 1991, he won the Saltus Award, the highest national and international recognition of the American Numismatic Association for excellence in bas-relief sculpture. He is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society and has served on its board for many years.

In 2004, Daub joined with Rob Firmin to form Daub & Firmin Sculpture Studios, LLC. In December 2009, they won the design competition to create a Rosa Parks statue for the U.S. Capitol.

Sourced mainly from Wikipedia and the artist.

You can click on the medals to see the reverse.

Mark Twain1982
ED-MT
Bronze

The medal's obverse shows rugged bust left of Mark Twain. On upper left edge, MARK TWAIN; on lower left edge, 1835-1985; on lower right, signed DAUB.

The reverse shows Huck Finn right, wearing large straw hat, chewing on stalk of grass.

This cast bronze medal is an irregular oval measuring 72mm x 60mm. The edition was limited to 100.

Statue of Liberty Centennial1985
ANS-55.1
Bronze with sea-green patina
ANS-55.2
Silver

This is the 55th official medal issued by the American Numismatic Society.

The obverse depicts Lady Liberty's serious face, radiant crown dominating upper half of medal. On lower right, 1886 / 1986.

The reverse bears torch with swirling flames. To right, in cursive, Liberty; around lower left, AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY; signed at lower right, E. DAUB

The edge is marked at 6:00 with issuer's mark, © ANS 1985; numbered at 12:00, 423/500.

This heavy and striking medal was issued by the American Numismatic Society (ANS) in 1985 to commemorate the upcoming centennial of the Statue of Liberty. Eugene Daub created a beautiful ovoid medal that surprises in its design. While the Statue of Liberty is very much a vertical object, the oval medal is in landscape orientation. Daub then picks two of the statue's defining features, the head and the torch, to represent it on the two sides. On the obverse, the face looks sternly at the beholder, as if to remind him of his obligations. On the reverse, the flame of Liberty burns brightly, its promise spelled out on the side.

The silver medals are numbered in two styles. Originally, only 100 silver medals had been ordered and they were numbered XXX/100, for example 001/100. When demand for the silver medal proved strong an additional 50 pieces were ordered and they are numbered just with their three digit number.

This medal is an ovoid measuring 100mm x 76mm and was struck by the Medallic Art Company. The mintage was 2 pieces in gold, 150 in silver and 500 in bronze.

Fire and Ice 1990
by Eugene Daub
SOM-121.1

This medal was chosen as the 121st issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1990. The obverse bears a rugged, bearded face left, in high relief, merging with swirls of flame.

The reverse bears a craggy bearded visage dripping with ice.

Daub explained his intent in the accompanying message "From the Artist":

"Joy - Suffering, Hot - Cold... everything in life is held in balance between extremes. Opposites! These powerful forces go back and forth in cycles. The medal is the ideal medium for this theme because of the two opposing sides of the medal."

The medal is struck in copper, giving the "Fire" side a natural flame color. The "Ice" side is silver-plated, giving it a cold, frozen look, particularly when contrasted with the obverse. Did the message inspire the medal or vice versa? Regardless, Daub did a wonderful job in using two metals to enhance the message.

This medal is an irregular oval measuring 74mm x 64mm and was produced by the Medallic Art Company. Production was not reported but the edition was limited to 2,500 pieces.

SOM-121.1
Copper
74.0mm x 64.0mm (2.91in x 2.52in)
Mozart Bicentennial1991
ED-MOZ.1
Cast Bronze (85mm)
ED-MOZ.2
Struck Bronze (76mm)
ED-MOZ.3
Struck Bronze (38mm)

This medal's obverse shows a half bust of Mozart wearing a winged mask and wig. Below, MOZART; signed under bust, E. L. DAUB

The reverse shows a bird cage with bird spreading its wings inside; singing face in place of door. Around, BICENTENNIAL / 1791 / 1991.

Eugene Daub created the design to represent the freedom within - the human ability to create and to be free in that creation, in spite of external circumstances which imprison. He sees the artist "living within a cage of the constrictions of day-to-day life, yet still singing within the cage." In his tribute to Mozart's genius, not only the bird within the cage itself, but even the cage itself is singing. The imagery invokes Papageno, the bird catcher in The Magic Flute and Mozart's love of parties.

This was a very successful design for Eugene Daub and was incorporated into different medals: the "original" cast art medal as well as two struck medals (you can scroll through them by dragging the medal).

The cast bronze medal is an irregular circle measuring 85mm in diameter. Its edition was limited to 100. The 76mm struck bronze medal was offered between January 27, 1990 (Mozart's birthday), and December 5, 1991 (the bicentennial of Mozart's death). Afterwards, all molds and dies were destroyed.

The Settlers' Medal 1994
by  Eugene Daub
BG-22
Golden bronze with dark patina

This was the 22nd of the prestigious Brookgreen Gardens member medals, issued in 1994.

The obverse bears settler in wild forest kneeling, studying footprint. Above, BROOKGREEN GARDENS; signed at bottom right, E L DAUB

The reverse bears settler before shore scene with pinnace and large ship in background. Above, SOUTH CAROLINA

The medal measures 76mm in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company.

Sonny Rollins Medal1997
ED-SR
Silver-plated bronze

The obverse bears bust of Sonny Rollins, three quarters left on textured background. Around edge at left, SONNY ROLLINS; signed on truncation, DAUB

The reverse bears 1972 / (corporate logo M) / 1997 in center. Around, · TWENTY FIVE YEARS · / ON MILESTONE

Sonny Rollins was born in 1930 in New York City and started pursuing music at a young age. During his high school years at Benjamin Franklin High in East Harlem he played in a band with future jazz legends Jackie McLean, Kenny Drew, and Art Taylor. During a life-long career in jazz and blues, he has been awarded many honors, including a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2004 and the National Medal of Arts in 2010. Sonny Rollins has not performed in public since 2012.

The medal celebrates not just Sonny Rollins but also Milestone Records. Milestone Records was originally founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz. The New York company specialized on Jazz and Blues. It was acquired by Fantasy Records in 1972. The medal seems to celebrate either the acquisition anniversary or the cooperation between Sonny Rollins and Milestone Records. Orrin Keepnews produced Sonny Rollins' records for much of this period.

The medal measures 57.5mm in diameter and was struck in silver-plated bronze. The mintage is not known.

Lewis & Clark Bicentennial2005
ED-LAC.1
Bronze
ED-LAC.2
Silver

The obverse bears conjoined busts left of Lewis and Clark before river with canoe. Around, LEWIS & CLARK BICENTENNIAL * MONTANA; left and right, 2005 - 2006; signed on lower right, DAUB

The reverse depicts a mature bison on prairie landscape with mountains rising in background. Above, WE PROCEED ON * MONTANA; in lower right signed, DAUB

Eugene Daub had already created the Corps of Discovery monument at Clark's Point in Kansas City, so he was a natural to take on a commemorative medal for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial.

The medals were struck by the Medallic Art Company of Dayton, Nevada in limited editions of bronze and silver.

The Kavli Prize2005
ED-KP
Gold

The obverse bears bust right of Fred Kavli . Above, THE KAVLI PRIZE; signed below in left, E. DAUB

The reverse display a geometric shape that cold be interpreted as a crystal lattice or a connection diagaram. Above, the field in which the prize is awarded, one of ASTROPHYSICS, NANOSCIENCE, or NEUROSCIENCE; below, recipient field.

The Kavli Prize is a partnership between The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation (United States) and The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.

The Prize emphasizes the science of the greatest physical dimensions of space and time, the science of the smallest dimensions of systems of atoms and molecules, and the science of the most complex systems, especially living organisms. In addition to the medal and a scroll, each awardee receives $1,000,000.

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Books & Articles

American Art Medals, 1909-1995 by David Thomason Alexander
David T. Alexander's book can be purchased at the above link. Highly recommended for anyone interested in SOM. I am deeply indebted to him for all the information I used to document the SOM medals on this site.

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