The Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher Collection of portrait medals is
unparalleled among those in private hands. Noted for its
comprehensiveness and outstanding quality, it includes medals dating
from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
This new volume, the result of a the Schers' gift of 450 medals to The
Frick Collection in 2016, brings to life these masterpieces of
small-scale sculpture, conveying the circumstances of their creation and
their historic significance. Beginning in the Italian Renaissance,
medals were made to commemorate individuals and to acknowledge specific
events or milestones, such as marriages, deaths, coronations, and
military victories. They were precious, portable, and popular among the
wealthy and powerful. This book provides a concise, fascinating
introduction to their artistry.
