Old Jim-Apache-Agua-Caliente
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diam.: 6.6 cm (2 5/8 in.)
Classification
medal
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
143492
Art Historical Context
Created in 1908 by sculptor Edward Warren Sawyer, “Old Jim-Apache-Agua-Caliente” is a compact bronze medal just 2 5/8 inches across. The work presents a portrait of Old Jim, an Apache man connected to Agua Caliente, rendered in the round format typical of early twentieth-century medallic art. Its presence in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Arts of the Americas department highlights how American artists of the period used small-scale sculpture to record individuals from Indigenous communities. Bronze medals like this one allowed artists to combine durable materials with fine relief modeling, pr...