Q. David Bowers
STOUDT, Dr. John Baer
Dr. John Baer Stoudt, associated with the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, suggested designs for the 1924 Huguenot-Walloon half dollar. Stoudt, a numismatist, served as chairman of the Huguenot-Walloon New Netherland Commission.
Commemorative credit: 1924 Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary half dollar (dies prepared by George T. Morgan from ideas furnished by Stoudt).
URQUHART, John T.
John T. Urquhart was a Vancouver, Washington businessman, and a sketcher of portraits.
Commemorative credit: 1925 Fort Vancouver half dollar (Sidney Bell used Urquhart's portrait sketch of Dr. McLoughlin to create the obverse motif).
VERANI, Patricia Lewis
Born on January 2, 1927, in Plandome, New York, the daughter of Tracy Hammond and Esther Tufts Lewis, Patricia Lewis (later married name: Patricia Lewis Verani) graduated from high school at the Oak Grove School in Vassalboro, Maine. In 1948 she graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts (having studied under Frederick W. Allen, Elizabeth MacLean-Smith, and Peter Abate), after which she studied art in France (with Ossipe Zadkine in Paris) and Italy under the Mrs. David Hunt Traveling Scholarship. During one summer she also studied under Ivan Mestrovic.
The list of her sculpture and medallic credits and awards is a long one and includes civic sculpture as well as private commissions. Among her largest works is an eight foot bronze bear at the University of Maine, one of her many works involving animals. "My work is largely figurative," notes a brochure she issued. "Like many other sculptors, the bulk of my creations has been portraits-mostly reliefs. I enjoy the challenge of capturing the personality and likeness of the subject. For most of my other subjects I choose animals, possibly because I grew up on a farm and owned horses and other animals. As subjects they offer many diverse design possibilities. It is my hope that through my work people will gain a better understanding of the world of nature, a world from which our society, and each generation, is further removed each day. I look forward to the growth of interest in the medal as an art form. It is such a wonderful, modest way for everyone to acquire contemporary works of art."
She is a member of the National Sculpture Society, the American Medallic Sculpture Association, and other groups. In a hearing in Congress concerning the possibility of changing the designs on regular U.S. coinage, Mrs. Verani gave her views: ("Annunzio Blasts Coinage Redesign Issue," by Michele Orzano. Coin World, September 28, 1988, p. 10.) "Each generation has its own style and characteristics," Verani said. "There are changes occurring every day in our art. Is it right that the coins we use today reflect the time of our grandfathers, rather than the present day? The coins of today will be the heirlooms of tomorrow and it has been shown that coins tend to outlast our other belongings, especially in this day of throw-aways."
Patricia Lewis married Osvaldo Verani in Pisa, Italy, on April 24, 1950. The couple has four children: Michela, Margherita, Daniela, and Giovanni. Patricia Lewis Verani has worked in New England for more than 40 years and beginning in 1952 made her home in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Commemorative credits: 1987 Constitution Bicentennial silver dollar, 1988 Olympic silver dollar (obverse), 1989 Congress Bicentennial half dollar (obverse).
She is a member of the National Sculpture Society, the American Medallic Sculpture Association, and other groups. In a hearing in Congress concerning the possibility of changing the designs on regular U.S. coinage, Mrs. Verani gave her views: ("Annunzio Blasts Coinage Redesign Issue," by Michele Orzano. Coin World, September 28, 1988, p. 10.) "Each generation has its own style and characteristics," Verani said. "There are changes occurring every day in our art. Is it right that the coins we use today reflect the time of our grandfathers, rather than the present day? The coins of today will be the heirlooms of tomorrow and it has been shown that coins tend to outlast our other belongings, especially in this day of throw-aways."
Patricia Lewis married Osvaldo Verani in Pisa, Italy, on April 24, 1950. The couple has four children: Michela, Margherita, Daniela, and Giovanni. Patricia Lewis Verani has worked in New England for more than 40 years and beginning in 1952 made her home in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Commemorative credits: 1987 Constitution Bicentennial silver dollar, 1988 Olympic silver dollar (obverse), 1989 Congress Bicentennial half dollar (obverse).
VITIOR, Frank
Born in Italy to a family of artists on January 6, 1888, Frank Vittor studied the art of sculpture there. He came to America in 1906 to study as a pupil of architect Stanford White, but White was murdered by Harry K. Thaw on the rooftop of Madison Square Garden a week later (the famous Evelyn Nesbit scandal), and Vittor found himself on his own. He gained employment as an assistant teacher of sculpture at Cooper Union and executed private commissions in his studio.
In 1917 he went to Pittsburgh to visit his wife's family, took with him over 80 bronze objects for display in a local gallery, and scored an immediate success with local residents. He liked Pittsburgh and in 1920 decided to relocate there, where he executed commissions for private and public clients. Vittor taught sculpture and founded the Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors. During his life he created over 200 portrait busts including one of Woodrow Wilson for the White House. Vittor produced numerous civic sculptures among which were many of large size, as well as 30 drinking fountains. He remained in Pittsburgh until his death in 1968.
Commemorative credit: 1936 Gettysburg half dollar.