Coining a president: Gloucester Sculptor competes in design challenge

Gloucester sculptor Daniel Altshuler has once again worked on a creation of presidential proportions.

Altshuler, who worked 13 years with noted 20th century sculptor Walker Hancock at his Lanesville studio, has unveiled his newest creation — a medal of President Elect Barack Obama.

Altshuler worked with Medallic Art Co., a mint in competition with other private mint companies in the United States, to produce the inaugural medal commemorating Obama's swearing-in on Tuesday as America's 44th president.

In the end, the choice came from a different direction. The Inaugural Medal Committee's marketing arm directly chose a team of sculptors to design the Obama medal instead of choosing one of the competitors' designs.

Regardless of the final outcome, Altshuler says he was honored to have been part of the commemoration process, and this is not his first time participating. He was also one of two finalists for the competition to produce the inaugural medal of President George W. Bush after the 2000 election.

The unpretentious Altshuler does not talk openly about his other commissions, though his resume outlines his work.

In 2006, he completed busts of former President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter for the Carter Center Presidential Library in Atlanta. In 2001, he was commissioned to make a bust of author Louisa May Alcott for the Orchard House Museum in Concord, known as the home of the characters in "Little Women" and where the classic's author lived. The museum also commissioned a bust as a gift to President George W. Bush and wife Laura Bush because the first lady so admired the 19th century American novelist. That bust is now part of the White House Collection. In 1988, he received the commission for the bust of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.

Even though Altshuler did not receive the inaugural medal commission for George W. Bush, the American ambassador to Prague commissioned Altshuler to redesign the medal as a presidential medal, of which he ordered 500 to give as gifts to ambassadors from around the globe. One of these presidential medals landed in the hands of George. H.W. Bush, who wrote a note to the sculptor to tell him how much he liked the medal of his son. Altshuler would later receive a letter from the president himself, complimenting him on the medal portrait after he was given one of Altshuler's medals.

"I've also have had nice letters from President Jimmy Carter and Chief Justice Warren Burger," said Altshuler.

Two Gloucester sculptors have designed the official inaugural medal.

Paul Manship, (1885-1966) who lived in New York City and Gloucester, made the medal for John F. Kennedy in 1961. In addition to the handful of gold medals made, there were more than 53,000 bronze medals and 7,500 silver medals produced. Manship is known for his golden Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Center.

In 1953 when the Medallic Art Co. was chosen to strike the Eisenhower medal. It was designed by Hancock (1901-1998), who died at age 97 in Gloucester. The medals have been struck by private mints ever since.

Altshuler explained that the tradition of inaugural medals became official for U.S. presidents in 1901 when a committee of numismatic connoisseurs was formed.

"While the first official inaugural medal did not make its appearance until 1901, its antecedents go far back into history. The striking of a medal to commemorate a particular event, or person, was a custom started during the period of the Roman Empire," according to H. Joseph Levine of the Presidential Coin & Antique Co. Levine wrote a history of inaugural medals

"It is recorded that Washington wore a set of specially made metal buttons inscribed with an eagle. In the century that followed, inaugural mementoes were made on a rather haphazard basis," Levine wrote. He described how President William McKinley's gold medal began the tradition of presenting the new president with his own gold inaugural medal.

"Moreover, it created an atmosphere where talented sculptors and the most capable of our mints wished to compete for the honor of being associated with the official medal," wrote Levine.

Altshuler studied the art of medal-making under Hancock's tutelage.

"He insisted that I work in bas-relief because he believed this was critical to know," he said.

In 1998, Altshuler designed the medal to commemorate the City of Gloucester's 375th anniversary.

"That launched my careers in medals," the sculptor said during an interview at his studio at Blackburn Park. In 2002, he created a seal of New York City for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

He was appointed to a two-year term to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which guided the U.S. Mint in its redesign of the nickel to commemorate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition and Louisiana Purchase.

Other commemorative medals he designed include Paul Revere, Henry David Thoreau and Vincent Van Gogh.

A few years from now, Altshuler plans once again to create sample inaugural medals for the next president election.

"I will try for the for the rest of my life," he said, of his attempt to be part of the official presidential inaugural medal.

Bonnie Crane, a long-time gallery owner in Boston and the North Shore, said the young sculptor would be deserving of such a commission.

"He is extremely well-trained," Crane said. "His figures are correct anatomically but also extremely graceful. He is also known for his medals."

She vividly recalled the hush that befell the room during a demonstration in Manchester.

"We watched as he applied bits of clay to build up the nose and hollow out the eyes," she said. "He had large chunks of clay he would add on until he got a sense of the hair texture and yet keeping the shape of the head foremost. It was an impressive display."

Gail McCarthy can be reached at gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com

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Gloucester sculptor competes in medal design challenge

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