David Hosack, Physician and Scientist
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diam. 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Classification
Medal
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. F. S. Wait, 1909
Accession Number
08.230.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, this intimate bronze medallion captures the profile of David Hosack, pioneering 19th-century American physician and. Measuring just 1 1/4 inches in diameter, it exemplifies the refined art of portrait medals—small-scale sculptures that blend commemorative function with artistic portraiture. Hosack, renowned for his contributions to medicine and botany, including the founding of America's first public botanical garden, is depicted in classic profile, evoking ancient Roman coins while honoring an Enlightenment-era innovator. Crafted by ...
About the Artist
Moritz Fürst · 1782–1882
Moritz Fürst was a Hungarian-born engraver and medalist who became one of the most accomplished practitioners of his craft in the early United States. Born in Hungary in 1782, he acquired his technical training in European ateliers before emigrating to America, where he arrived in the early years of the nineteenth century and ultimately settled in Philadelphia — then the center of the young nation...