Commemoration of Charles Lindbergh's Flight [obverse]
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
bronze
Dimensions
overall (diameter): 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift through subscription to the Society of Medalists)
Accession Number
2015.19.3643.a
Art Historical Context
This bronze medal, designed by renowned American sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies and struck by the Medallic Art Company in 1931, celebrates Charles Lindbergh's historic 1927 solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean—the first of its kind, from New York to Paris. Measuring just 7.3 cm in diameter, its obverse side captures the monumental achievement that captivated the world, turning Lindbergh into an overnight icon of aviation heroism and American ingenuity during the Jazz Age. MacMonnies, a master of Beaux-Arts sculpture known for grand public monuments like those at the World's Co...