Q. David Bowers
Since 1966 Elizabeth Jones has been a member of the Federation Internationale de la Medaille and has participated regularly in their biennial exhibitions. Since 1967 she has also been a member of the National Sculpture Society, which awarded her the Louis Bennett Prize in 1978. A member of the American Numismatic Association since 1966 she was designated Outstanding Sculptor of the Year and awarded their gold medal in 1972. Elizabeth] ones is also a charter member of the American Medallic Sculpture Association and a member of the American Numismatic Society, which elected her a Fellow in 1990. In 1989 she became the first medalist to be honored with a retrospective exhibition of her work by the Italian State Mint in Rome.
Elizabeth Jones was named chief sculptor and engraver of the U.S. Mint in 1981, following the retirement of Frank Gasparro, and began her duties on an acting basis on September 1st of that year (August 31st was her first day at the Mint) and officially on October 28th. "Whatever the future brings, Elizabeth Jones will leave her mark on U.S. coins and medals," noted a brochure distributed by the Mint in 1982. During her tenure as chief sculptor and engraver she created two medals, the Ronald Reagan presidential medal and a portrait medal depicting Secretary of the Treasury James A. Baker III, and supervised the production of numerous others by Mint engravers.
On April 26, 1986, she married architect Ludwig Glaeser. In 1990 she reported that, against her wishes, she would be leaving her post, the first time that a chief engraver had left office other than through retirement or death. Her last day in the office was December 13, 1990. Each of the commemorative coins designed during her chief engravership received the Coin of the Year Award, a remarkable accomplishment.
Commemorative credits: 1982 Washington half dollar (obverse; reverse modeled from her sketch by Matthew Peloso), 1983 Olympic silver dollar (obverse; reverse modeled by John Mercanti), 1986-W Statue of Liberty $5, 1988-W Olympic $5 (obverse).
Jovine, Marcel
Marcel Jovine, of Closter, New Jersey, was born in Naples, Italy on July 26, 1921, the son of Andrea and Nila Jovine. He attended the University of Naples and the Royal Academy of Turin. During World War II] ovine was a lieutenant in the Italian Army and had his introduction to Americans when he was captured by the British and turned over to Allied forces. After the Italian forces surrendered, Jovine worked in Pennsylvania in an ordnance depot. He then went back to Italy for repatriation. He returned to the United States in 1946 and became a United States citizen in 1951. In September 1946 he married Angela D'Oro, an American of Italian heritage who had worked for the USO during the war. The union produced two children, Marcia and Andrea.
The sculptor advised the present author as follows: (As part of biographical data submitted in May 1991.) "I have had no formal art instruction. I had a natural talent and developed my own style." Since the 1950s Marcel Jovine has achieved international stature as a creator of medals noted for detail and historical authenticity, producing more than 100 medal designs from 1975 to 1990. Many of these have become collectors' items including a series of calendar medals for the Medallic Art Company and medals for the 1980 Winter Olympics held at Lake Placid, New York, the Freedom Train Commission (1976), and the Thoroughbred Racing Association (1982). Jovine was selected by the American Numismatic Society in 1985 as the recipient of the J. Stanford Saltus Award presented for life achievement in medallic art. From January 1988 until January 1991 he served as president of the National Sculpture Society. Marcel Jovine is also a painter and musician.
Commemorative credits: 1987-W Constitution Bicentennial $5, 1988-W Olympic $5 (reverse), 1990 Eisenhower Centennial dollar (reverse; model done by Chester Y. Martin from Jovine's design), 1991 Mount Rushmore half dollar (obverse).
KECK, Charles
Born in New York City on September 9, 1875, the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Kammerer) Keck (both of whom had immigrated to New York from Germany in 1870; Henry was a worker in stained glass), Charles Keck began his formal training in art at the National Academy of Design in New York City, later joining the Art Students League in the same city.
During the period 1893-1897 he worked with Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the sculptor's New York studio. Keck studied in Rome, Florence, and other European-cities from early 1901, returning to the United States in 1905, where he established a studio he was to maintain for the rest of his life. At one time he did much work for the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. As years went on, Charles Keck achieved great success as a sculptor.
Among his works were the Washington Monument (Buenos Aires, 1913), Lewis and Clark Memorial and a horseback figure of Stonewall Jackson (both for Charlottesville, Virginia, 1921), a statue of black educator Booker T. Washington (for the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, with which Washington was associated; 1922), a monument to shoe manufacturer George F. Johnson (Johnson City, New York, 1923), the Liberty Monument (Fort Ticonderoga, New York, 1925), military memorials in various cities, a statue of Abraham Lincoln (Wabash, Indiana, 1932), monuments to controversial political figure Huey Long (Baton Rouge, 1940; Washington, 1942), and many more.
Perhaps his most heroic work was a 272-foot-long frieze, eight feet high, made for the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, illustrating the development of the American West. Keck's works are displayed at many places in the United States including Brookgreen Gardens (South Carolina) and the Hall of Fame at New York University. In 1915 Keck's studio was located at 148 West 36th Street, New York City. From 1931 to 1933 he served as president of the National Sculpture Society.
On June 3, 1923, he was married in Oceanside, New York, to J. Anne Collyer. The union produced three children: sons James Collyer, Charles, and John William. The artist died in Carmel, New York on April 23, 1951.
Commemorative credits: 1915-S Panama-Pacific gold dollar, 1927 Vermont Sesquicentennial half dollar, 1936 Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar.