James Hazen Hyde Medal (design for reverse)

Paul Manship, James Hazen Hyde Medal (design for reverse), 1948, lead, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.127
Copied Paul Manship, James Hazen Hyde Medal (design for reverse), 1948, lead, 4 14 in. (10.9 cm.) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.127

Artwork Details

Title
James Hazen Hyde Medal (design for reverse)
Artist
Date
1948
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
4 14 in. (10.9 cm.) diam.
Credit Line
Bequest of Paul Manship
Mediums
Mediums Description
lead
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Allegory — place
  • Indian
  • African
  • Asian
  • Greek
Object Number
1966.47.127

Artwork Description

James Hazen Hyde (1876-1959) helped to found the Federation of Alliances Françaises in the United States in 1902. The different chapters of this organization collaborated with the Alliance Française (established in Paris in 1883) to promote French language, literature, and culture in American communities. In Paul Manship’s design for the reverse of the medal, the heads of women representing Africa, Asia, and North America symbolize France’s colonial territories from the eighteenth century to the period just after World War II. The irregular edges of this piece mark it as a “splasher,” in which the molten metal was stamped with the die to gauge the sharpness of Manship’s design.