The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

PREV ARTICLE       NEXT ARTICLE       FULL ISSUE       PREV FULL ISSUE      

V20 2017 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 20, Number 50, December 3, 2017, Article 17

THE BELA LYON PRATT SESQUICENTENNIAL

Allan Schein submitted these notes on the 150th anniversary of the birth of coin designer and sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt. Thanks! -Editor

Bela Lyon Pratt December 11, 2017 is the 150th birth anniversary of Sculptor / designer Bela Lyon Pratt.

Born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1847, in numismatic circles Pratt is best known for his design of the quarter and half eagle Indian head coins of 1908 to 1929. The Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich presented a retrospective of Pratt's work with an opening of the exhibit October 15th, and will continue through early January 2018. Occupying three separate exhibit rooms with works by Pratt, and some by other family members including Great Granddaughter Amy Laugesen. The exhibit borrowed works from private collectors, family members and other sources to stage the most extensive retrospective of his work since his memorial exhibition held in 1918 at the Museum of Fine Art, Boston. Pratt was the inaugural sculpting professor at the School of the MFA from 1893 until his death on May 18th, 1917.

Big Eagle installation, Abington, MA The Big Eagle was a magnificent piece set on top of the Abington Arch, a Civil War Memorial at the eleven acre Island Grove Park, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Pratt’s Eagle stands 11' 4" tall with a wingspan of 6' 8". This photo shows Pratt standing on top of the sculpture during its installation in 1912.

LEFT: The Abington Eagle, a/k/a The Big Eagle, 1912, Bela Lyon Pratt. Photo courtesy of The Historical Society of Old Abington, Inc.



White spacer bar

RIGHT: The Whaleman, 1912, Bronze, Bela Lyon Pratt, for New Bedford, MA. Photo courtesy of the Pratt Family archives.

For more information on the Slater Memorial Museum, see:
http://www.slatermuseum.org/



White spacer bar
E-Sylum ad PAN 2017-12-03 Raffle


Wayne Homren, Editor

Google
 
NBS (coinbooks.org) Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum

PREV ARTICLE       NEXT ARTICLE       FULL ISSUE       PREV FULL ISSUE      

V20 2017 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

Copyright © 1998 - 2020 The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS)
All Rights Reserved.

NBS Home Page
Contact the NBS webmaster

coin