New York Tercentenary Medal

Paul Manship, New York Tercentenary Medal, 1914, bronze, 2 ³⁄₄ in. (7.0 cm.) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1965.16.80

Artwork Details

Title: New York Tercentenary Medal
Artist: Paul Manship
Date: 1914
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 2 ³⁄₄ in. (7.0 cm.) diam.
Credit Line: Gift of the artist
Mediums: bronze
Mediums Description: bronze
Classifications: Sculpture
Medal
Subjects: Figure group — male
Animal — reptile — snake
Object — other — smoking material
Object — weapon — gun
Architecture Exterior — commercial — skyscraper
Allegory — place — New York City
Object — furniture — chair
Animal — beaver
Architecture — boat — sailing ship
Indian
Architecture — boat — detail
Object Number: 1965.16.80
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1965.16.80

Artwork Description

Paul Manship’s New York Tercentenary Medal commemorates the 300th anniversary of the founding of New York in 1614. The design for the obverse features an allegorical figure holding the torch of liberty in one hand and an early skyscraper---perhaps Cass Gilbert’s famous Woolworth Building---in the other. Shields to the left and right of the figure bear symbols of medicine and maritime trade, industries in which New York led, early in the twentieth century.