Charles Lang Freer Medal (obverse)

Paul Manship, Charles Lang Freer Medal (obverse), 1955, bronze, 3 ¹⁄₄ in. (8.3 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.130

Artwork Details

Title: Charles Lang Freer Medal (obverse)
Artist: Paul Manship
Date: 1955
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 3 ¹⁄₄ in. (8.3 cm) diam.
Credit Line: Bequest of Paul Manship
Mediums: bronze
Mediums Description: bronze
Classifications: Sculpture
Medal
Subjects: Occupation — industry
Occupation — other — philanthropist
Portrait male — Freer, Charles Lang — head
Architecture Exterior — art building — Freer Gallery of Art
Object Number: 1966.47.130
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1966.47.130

Artwork Description

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) manufactured railroad cars in Detroit until he retired in 1900. He established the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to house his collection of Asian art, as well as paintings and decorative arts created by James McNeill Whistler. The obverse of Paul Manship’s medal depicts Freer and the neoclassical building on the National Mall designed by Charles Adams Platt (see 1965.16.98 and 1965.16.99) to house Freer’s collection.