Q. David Bowers
PIETZ, Adam
Born in Offenbach-am-Main, Germany on July 19, 1873, Adam Pietz began his training as a sculptor in Offenbach under Prof. Hildebrand. In 1889 he emigrated to the United States, settled in Philadelphia, and studied art at the Spring Garden Institute. In 1891 he was awarded a gold medal for his modeling from life in Prof. Porter's class there. In 1892 he studied in Pittsburgh under Horatio S. Stevenson, followed by studies under John H. Vanderpoel at the Chicago Art Institute (1892-1893), the Drexel Institute (under Cyrus Dallin and Clifford P. Grayson, 1894-1898), and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (under Charles Grafly and Thomas P. Anschutz, 1899-1903).
Early in the 20th century he set up an engraving shop on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, where he produced book-plates, portraits, medals, and other objects. His advertisement in The Numismatist, December 1912, noted that he offered "superior die sinking" for medals, portraits, figures, etc., and "absolutely correct heraldic subjects engraved." In 1932 and 1933 he modeled a series of cast medallions of movie stars from life including Anna May Wong, Jean Harlow, George Brent, Fatty Arbuckle, Dorothy Jordan, Bette Davis, Loretta Young, Joe E. Brown, and Jean Arthur.
On March 20, 1928, he was named to the position of assistant engraver at the Mint, at a salary of $2,400 per year. (Adam Pietz's personal correspondence files arc preserved in the Bowers and Merena Galleries Reference collection. On March 20, 1928, Superintendent Freas Styer appointed him to the post of assistant engraver on a provisional basis, such position to take effect as soon as Pietz took the required oath of office. An unpublished autobiographical sketch prepared by Pietz incorrectly places the date as 1927.) By early 1941 his compensation was $4,400 per year, at which time he was nearly 70 years old. Pietz desired to remain at the Mint past retirement age, and Director Nellie Tayloe Ross secured a temporary extension of his employment, after which he left government service (in March 1946).
As assistant engraver at the Philadelphia Mint, Pietz designed many medals (including the reverse of the Congressional Medal of Honor) but no circulating coinage. After his retirement he maintained a private studio at 1001 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, where, among other things, he designed the 1946 Iowa half dollar. His home was at 401 Glen Echo Road, Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was a close companion and confidant to Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock and shared a home with him for a period of time in the 1940s.
Following the death of Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock on May 14, 1947, Nellie Tayloe Ross asked Pietz whether he could return to assist at the Mint, should he be needed. "I want your experience and age," Ross said. "Mr. [Gilroy] Roberts is a nice young man but has not the experience or age." Correspondence preserved by Pietz indicates that he mistook this as an invitation to be chief engraver, prompting a clarification to the contrary by Ross by letter on August 14, 1947, who stated that her offer had been only in connection with an "emergency need of temporary assistance," should such arise, which, as it developed, did not (on July 22, 1948, Gilroy Roberts, age 43, was appointed chief engraver).
Commemorative credit: 1946 Iowa Centennial half dollar.
PUTNAM, Brenda
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 3, 1890, the daughter of Herbert and Charlotte Elizabeth (Munroe) Putnam and granddaughter of famous publisher George Palmer Putnam, Brenda Putnam developed interests in art and music at an early age. She became well known as a pianist and later in life played professionally until she decided that she could not pursue two careers at once, although she continued to play music as a recreation.
In the field of art she studied sculpture at the school at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (under Bela Lyon Pratt) and the Art Students League (under lames Earle Fraser). In 1912 she established a studio in New York City and maintained it for many years. She developed a specialty in modeling busts and plaques of small children, usually on a commission basis. In 1927 she went to Florence, Italy to study. Commissions were executed for Brookgreen Gardens (South Carolina), the Folger Library (Washington, D. C.), Rock Creek Cemetery (Washington, D.C.), the New York University Hall of Fame (bust of Harriet Beecher Stowe), and numerous others. She wrote and illustrated The Sculptor's Way, published in 1939. Brenda Putnam's death occurred in 1975.
Commemorative credit: 1936 Cleveland Centennial half dollar.
REICH, John M.
John Reich (Johann Mathias Reich) was born in Furth, Germany in 1768, where his father was a prolific medalist of indifferent talent. After working in his father's shop he emigrated from Hamburg to America aboard the Anna, arriving in Philadelphia in August 1800. After a year's indenture to a Philadelphia coppersmith, Reich was "freed" by Henry Voigt, then chief coiner at the Mint. In March 1807 Mint Director Robert Patterson urged President Jefferson to hire Reich as assistant engraver at a salary of $600 per year. Reich worked at the Mint for the next 10 years, resigning on March 31, 1817 due to failing eyesight. He was one of the founders of the Society of Artists (1811) and one of the first group of Pennsylvania Academicians (1812). After leaving the Mint, Reich traveled to the West in search of a more favorable climate to restore his health and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The artist died circa 1832.
Commemorative credit: In 1801 Reich, utilizing a bust by Houdon, engraved the Jefferson presidential (and Indian peace) medal from which Charles E. Barber copied the portrait in 1903 for use on a variety of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar.
RICH, Walter H.
Walter H. Rich was a Portland, Maine artist known in particular for his drawings of wildlife and nature.
Commemorative credit: 1936 York County Tercentenary half dollar.