Jeanne Stevens-Sollman is the recipient of the American Numismatic Association’s 2007 Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture. This prestigious award will be presented Aug. 11 during the awards banquet for the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money in Milwaukee, Wis. 

Ms. Stevens-Sollman has been given numerous honors in her field, including the American Numismatic Society’s J. Sanford Saltus Award for Signal Achievement in Medallic Art in 1999. Over the past 20 years, her work has been shown at a multitude of juried and invitational exhibitions including every congress of the International Medal Federation (FIDEM) from 1987 through 2007. This year’s congress will be held Sept. 19-22 at ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs. 

 

The world of medallic art has benefited from Ms. Stevens-Sollman’s tireless efforts. She was Vice President and then President of the American Medallic Sculpture Association (AMSA) from 1997 through 2002, and is currently First Vice Delegate to FIDEM. She has curated a number of exhibits, including “Hands Across the Sea,” an international exhibit of American and Polish medals coordinated by AMSA and shown at the ANA Money Museum, Pennsylvania State University (her alma mater) and the Museum of Medallic Art in Warsaw. 

 

Animals are a favorite subject for Ms. Stevens-Sollman’s art, including those modeled after her pet labrador and her own flock of sheep at her rural Pennsylvania home. Her body of work also includes multi-part medals, portraits, nature themes and awards. 

“It is difficult to separate the philosophy behind my medallic art and my larger life size sculpture because in each piece I hope to evoke a curiosity and wonder in those who view them, whether it be positive or negative,” Stevens-Sollman says. “The difference is that medals can be held, even hidden, in one’s hand. These little slices of imagination, poems in some cases, for me commemorate an event, a fleeting moment, an observation. And when two sides are not enough, the interlocking medals become my challenge.” 

The Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture (NAAEMS) was established in 1966 by the American Numismatic Association “to recognize a living artist whose cumulative lifetime achievement in the field of medallic sculpture has been of the highest order.” Past winners have included Paul Vincze (1966), Gilroy Roberts — who designed the NAAEMS award (1967), Robert Weinman (1975), Eugene Daub (1991) and Leonda Finke (2006). This year’s judging was performed by the NAAEMS Committee, headed by Mel Wacks. Other members include David Alexander, Dr. Richard Doty, Leonda Finke, Dr. Cory Gillilland, Mashiko, Douglas Mudd, Donald Scarinci and Dr. Alan Stahl. Nominations for future NAAEMS recipients are invited by contacting Susan McMillan at mcmillan@money.org. 

Originally Release Date: July 24, 2007

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