William Lawrence Saunders Award for Achievement in Mining

Anthony de Francisci, William Lawrence Saunders Award for Achievement in Mining, ca. 1927, plaster plaque, 13 ¹⁄₄ x 10 in. (33.6 x 25.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Anthony de Francisci, 1966.51.4

Artwork Details

Title: William Lawrence Saunders Award for Achievement in Mining
Artist: Anthony de Francisci
Date: ca. 1927
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 13 ¹⁄₄ x 10 in. (33.6 x 25.4 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Anthony de Francisci
Mediums: plaster
Mediums Description: plaster plaque
Classifications: Sculpture
Relief
Subjects: Figure female — nude
Landscape — rocks
Figure female — full length
Homage — Saunders, William Lawrence
Object Number: 1966.51.4
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1966.51.4

Artwork Description

William Lawrence Saunders was the 1915 president of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, a chairman of Ingersoll Rand Company, and deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This award, known today as the William Lawrence Saunders Gold Medal, was established in 1927 and recognizes achievement in mining other than coal. Anthony de Francisci created this plaster relief, which shows an allegorical figure offering up the minerals of the Earth, in the initial stages of designing the award.