M115
Bronze, AU
73 mm (2-7/8”), 227 grams
HISTORY: Wheeler Williams (1897–1972), born and raised in Chicago, studied sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He graduated magna cum laude from Yale in 1919 and received his MA in architecture from Harvard in 1922. Williams then attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. By 1951, Williams had received five major commissions, including the pediment design on the Interstate Commerce Commission building in Washington, DC.
OBVERSE: The Society of Medalists issued two medals every year. Williams was commissioned for its 1951 second medal design and chose a religious theme. Mother Mary holds aloft the baby Jesus, hands outstretched. Lower left, 7 o’clock, is the signature “© WW.”
REVERSE: “PEACE·ON·EARTH” hovers over a lamb lying among a bed of flowers.
EDGE: Smooth, the top edge is engraved, “THE SOCIETY OF MEDALISTS - 44TH ISSUE - 1951 - WHEELER WILLIAMS. SCULPTOR,” while the bottom edge is engraved, “MEDALLAC ART CO. N.Y.”
