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Frank Gasparro and his first Susan B Anthony design choice
Zoins
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This is a story I've read a few times regarding the design of the SBA dollar and it is even on Wikipedia. Does anyone know if there's some truth to this or is it an urban legend? Are there articles or quotations available? Also, does anyone know which SBA picture Gasparro originally chose to base the dollar on?
<< <i>Frank Gasparro's daughter said it was Grecian design that influenced his first idea for a new dollar in the 1980's. She said he first envisioned a young woman's face and profile, her hair flowing. Instead, he was told to depict Susan B. Anthony, the famous suffragist. He had no idea what she looked like, so he went to the offices of The Philadelphia Bulletin and found two photographs in the newspaper's library. She was 28 in one and 84 in the other. When he chose the younger Anthony, her family, feminists and even his own wife, Julia, complained that she was too pretty. He then showed her with a square jaw, hooked nose and drooping right eye, and this design was accepted. >>
<< <i>Frank Gasparro's daughter said it was Grecian design that influenced his first idea for a new dollar in the 1980's. She said he first envisioned a young woman's face and profile, her hair flowing. Instead, he was told to depict Susan B. Anthony, the famous suffragist. He had no idea what she looked like, so he went to the offices of The Philadelphia Bulletin and found two photographs in the newspaper's library. She was 28 in one and 84 in the other. When he chose the younger Anthony, her family, feminists and even his own wife, Julia, complained that she was too pretty. He then showed her with a square jaw, hooked nose and drooping right eye, and this design was accepted. >>
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TD
Surely there are better images of our Founding Fathers and other historical figures. The recent makeover of the Jefferson Nickel is a step forward. Washington has looked better on other coins. FDR certainly has had better moments than he did on the profile of the dime. But, in the case of S. B. Anthony, I think they went out of their way to remove any beauty from Anthony, in a misguided attempt to emphasize the person over the looks. It was a nice idea, but they went too far. One can be older and beautiful--wise, an elder mentor, perhaps. Instead, she looks like a disgruntled Puritan about to whack my coin-grabbing hands with a wooden switch.
TD >>
I have vague memories of reading the same or a similiar article probably in Coin World. The "niece" remembered her as an old woman and wanted the coin to look more like that.
All I read into that statement is this guy oversaw and was directly responsible for some of the worst coin designs to ever come out of the mint. I will say the Kenn Rev is ok esp compared to what is coming out of the mint these days with the computer assisted cartoons. yuck
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linky
See page two, first and second paragraphs. The Wikipedia entry combines the mentions of Gasparro's Liberty Cap design, which we have illustrated in the other thread, with his work on Anthony.
<< <i>This is a story I've read a few times regarding the design of the SBA dollar and it is even on Wikipedia. Does anyone know if there's some truth to this or is it an urban legend? Are there articles or quotations available? Also, does anyone know which SBA picture Gasparro originally chose to base the dollar on?
<< <i>Frank Gasparro's daughter said it was Grecian design that influenced his first idea for a new dollar in the 1980's. She said he first envisioned a young woman's face and profile, her hair flowing. Instead, he was told to depict Susan B. Anthony, the famous suffragist. He had no idea what she looked like, so he went to the offices of The Philadelphia Bulletin and found two photographs in the newspaper's library. She was 28 in one and 84 in the other. When he chose the younger Anthony, her family, feminists and even his own wife, Julia, complained that she was too pretty. He then showed her with a square jaw, hooked nose and drooping right eye, and this design was accepted. >>
>>
Some years ago, after the SBA was first struck, I was in Frank Gasparro’s office on a friendly visit.
I asked him about the design and politely indicated that I thought he should have given her a
pleasant look rather than the forbidding one which appeared. He told me that the photograph that
was used had been furnished by the family and that both the family and Mint Director Stella Hackel
Sims had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not to deviate from the photograph. He made
it clear that, had he been given some latitude, the result would have been much better.
<< <i>He designed both sides of the Susan B. Anthony dollar, both sides of the Eisenhower Dollar (with the exception of the Bicentennial issue of 1976), the Lincoln Memorial reverse of the cent (minted from 1959 to 2008), and the reverse of the Kennedy half dollar >>
Design is perhaps giving too much credit for the Ike/SBA reverse and SBA obverse. The Ike/SBA reverse came from the Apollo 11 mission and the SBA obverse seems to be from a photo. Perhaps it would be better to say he adapted them?
From Wikipedia:
<< <i>The patch of Apollo 11 was designed by [Michael] Collins, who wanted a symbol for "peaceful lunar landing by the United States." He chose an eagle as the symbol, put an olive branch in its beak, and drew a moon background with the earth in the distance. NASA officials said the talons of the eagle looked too "warlike" and after some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the claws. The crew decided the Roman numeral XI would not be understood in some nations and went with Apollo 11; they decided not to put their names on the patch, so it would "be representative of everyone who had worked toward a lunar landing."
All colors are natural, with blue and gold borders around the patch. The LM was named Eagle to match the insignia. When the Eisenhower dollar coin was released a few years later, the patch design provided the eagle for its reverse side.[54] The design was retained for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar which was unveiled in 1979, ten years after the Apollo 11 mission. >>
<< <i>You can parse this too far if you try. Did Felix Schlag really design the Jefferson nickel, since Houdon carved the bust copied for the obverse, and Jefferson designed the building Monticello copied for the reverse? >>
You're right to bring those up for discussion. Many "designs" are really more adaptations of creative work done by others. For the Ike reverse, Gasparro primarily added things which are on virtually all US coins:
(1) name of country
(2) motto
(3) stars
(4) denomination
to someone else's choice of eagle, olive branch, moon and earth. In this case, the primary device and symbolism was provided by Collins in the original design and not the any additional derivative work added by Gasparro.
I'm all about giving credit where it's due, but let's not take away someone else's accomplishments.
<< <i>
<< <i>You can parse this too far if you try. Did Felix Schlag really design the Jefferson nickel, since Houdon carved the bust copied for the obverse, and Jefferson designed the building Monticello copied for the reverse? >>
You're right to bring those up for discussion. Many "designs" are really more adaptations of creative work done by others. For the Ike reverse, Gasparro primarily added things which are on virtually all US coins:
(1) name of country
(2) motto
(3) stars
(4) denomination
to someone else's choice of eagle, olive branch, moon and earth. In this case, the primary device and symbolism was provided by Collins in the original design and not the any additional derivative work added by Gasparro.
I'm all about giving credit where it's due, but let's not take away someone else's accomplishments.
Given what you've just stated, would it not be more correct to state that Gasparro incorporated those previous designs into the "design" of the coins he sculpted?
You can't simply slap lettering onto someone else's designs and call it a coin design since ALL the elements of the coin design need to be worked and reworked to insure that one does not override the other such as what occurs with the steps on Monticello.
He designed the coin but not the elements that made up the design. Otherwise, wouldn't credit have to be given to the person that designed the particular font face used on a coin?
This sounds a lot like the old penny vs cent arguments.
The name is LEE!
RIP Mr. Gasparro's Flowing Hair Liberty.
Ron
<< <i>I have read, but cannot supply references, that when told he could not use his Flowing Hair Liberty design that Gasparro literally sat down and cried. It was a beautiful coin and one that would have influenced U.S. coinage for years to come.
RIP Mr. Gasparro's Flowing Hair Liberty. >>
That's understandable given the 10 years he spent on the design. Thanks for sharing that story.