American Art Collaborative

Paul Manship’s uniface artist’s sample represents the reverse of a finished medal commemorating the visit to the United States in 1919 of Dr. Epitacio M. Pessoa, president-elect of Brazil (see 1965.16.84). Dr. Pessoa arrived in New York City, then traveled to Boston and Washington, D.C., in ceremonial appearances meant to solidify relations between Brazil and the United States. On the reverse of the finished medal, a freighter riding the waves symbolizes the raw materials (rubber, oil, and rope fiber) provided to the United States by its trading partner