An internationally known artist with many prestigious sculptures of sports, dance, family and individual figures, Marc also has produced many important bronze medals, among them the 2002 medal in the Brookgreen Gardens Museum medal series, where ART's president, Alexandra York, was instrumental in gaining him the commission through ART's Honorary Board member, Joe Noble, who was Chairman Emeritus of that institution at the time.
Two years ago, Marc began striking his medals with Medalcraft Mint in Green Bay, the private mint that had produced both the George W. Bush and the Bush-Cheney medals, commemorating their second inauguration. Medalcraft hired three sculptors to create complete Obama medals, obverse and reverse, and two sculptors to create McCain medals. Other mints around the country hired other artists, and approximately 15 Obama designs found their way to Washington D.C. , so the competition was stiff.
After the Inaugural Committee asked Marc for a slight re-working of his design (giving him only three days last December to achieve that), his medal design was approved. Early strikes are already in a number of important collections. Within days of the first strike, the medal was on view at the Schomburg Center for the Study of Black Culture in Harlem. The National Museum of American History, home of the nation's numismatic collection, has an early strike in hand, and is discussing with Marc and the mint a possible exhibit highlighting the process from sketches to finishing. The Century Association has just asked for a medal to display alongside works by Centurions, who created inaugural medals in other eras, including Augustus Saint-Gaudens,Jo Davidson, and Paul Manship.
We at ART congratulate Marc on this great victory that makes his medal part of the history of our nation. Although invited, he was unable to be present at the actual Inauguration but will attend the ceremony when a special strike of the medal will be presented to the President directly.
We are pleased to announce that Marc Mellon, Sculptor Advisor to ART,
recently completed his competitively won commission for the official
presidential medal of Barrack Hussein Obama, America's 44th President.
