Free article "American Advocates" (2006) 0

[RWB]

This little article was written in 2006 as part of the Maynard Sundman, Littleton Coin Company Lecture Series. I don't recall if it was printed or not. The intro and first paragraph are below. Anyone who would like a PDF copy for personal use can send me a PM with their email address. (Note: addresses will not be stored or shared.)

American Advocates

Changing the Course of National Coinage Design

"There are few instances of American politics supporting American art. Most examples – construction of a concert hall at public expense or establishment of an art museum or statuary in a public park – are local in range and parochial in treatment. With the exception of the Smithsonian’s suite of NationalMuseums and ArtGalleries and the National Endowment for the Arts, the few national examples tend toward engineering expressions of the practical. We are, in the view of many, a nation of practical business people for whom the arts are an entertainment not a necessity. Politicians place their tax money expenditures on public works not public arts. Thus, on those rare occasions when a noted politician takes the creative Muse by her hand (done so rarely for poor Juno Moneta) the result may accurately be called historical."

"A

 century ago there was just such a confluence of politics and art in America. The nation was beginning to realize its own enormity – both the promise and embarrassment – and struggled to find a role in the world community of nations. We were a nation born of revolution against regal control, then deeply tempered by the quenching blood of a million brothers. In this time, we connected the sunrise and sunset with rails of steel and wires that sang. As a new century began, we sought to connect ourselves to the larger world of nations, to show we were not only equal of any, but superior to most – worthy of envy by all."

Edited March 8, 2021 by RWB
Fix Formatting - as usual

[GoldFinger1969]

Is Littleton still around ?  I know they took out ads in many of the Whitman GUIDE books.

[DWLange]

Littleton is alive and well. Maynard's son David is the president, a good friend and a fellow collector of coin boards..