Hall of Fame for Great Americans at NYU

One of the most popular portrait series of medals in the world, the Hall of Fame for Great Americans Series honors the most famous Americans chosen by highly selected judging committees and sponsored by New York University. The first election was held in 1900 -- when a building was erected to house the Hall and an ongoing collection of statues. Elections were held every five years thereafter.

Bronze statues of the honorees were installed within outside niches along the open colonnade at the University Heights campus. It partly surrounds a Pantheon style building created by architect Stamford White that has served as a library and auditorium over its first century.

The Medals. In 1962 a coalition was formed to sponsor and market fine art medals to honor these same famous Americans. The coalition consisted of New York University, the owner of the Hall of Fame; the National Sculpture Society, which would furnish an art committee; the Medallic Art Company, which would manufacture the medals; and the Coin and Currency Institute which would market the medals.

The Art Committee was formed of five members with sculptor Donald De Lue as chairman; this committee issued commissions to American sculptors who expressed an interest in creating one or more of the medals. (Those sculptors who had created the bust were given first choice to do the medal.) Over the next 13 years, 96 medals (listed below) were created by 42 sculptors, predominantly members of the National Sculpture Society.

Rules for the medal design were simple. It had to bear a portrait on the obverse, significant scene from that subject's accomplishment for the reverse. The lettering HALL OF FAME FOR GREAT AMERICANS AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY must appear on the medal, either side was permissible. While the design was left to the artist, each submission had to pass the approval of the Art Committee composed of the artist's sculptural peers.

Medals were struck in two sizes. A large 3-inch (76mm) size in bronze only, and a small 1 3/4-inch (44mm) in bronze and silver. The silver was serially numbered.

Medalist Laura Gardin Fraser had selected two medals to create -- Mary Lyon and Gilbert Stuart -- but died before completing the models. Sculptor Karl Gruppe finished the two medals as close to her designs and style as possible. The two Wright Brothers, with different statues and years of election, appear on one medal, by Paul Fjelde.

Later status. In 1973 and 1976 the last 20th century elections were held and seven new honorees* were elected into the Hall (which would fill in every niche in the colonnade). In 1973 New York University sold their University Heights Campus to City College of New York along with the building and the statues forming the Colonnade. The statues, and the Hall of Fame itself, were in limbo for awhile. Bronx Community College, which now occupies the campus, is present stewardship of the Hall. Since 1977 no elections have been held, no new statues erected or medals issued.

However, visitors to New York City can still travel to University Heights in the Bronx and walk the Colonnade, viewing the magnificent statues overlooking the Hudson River. Or they can build a set of fine art medals created by some of the most talented medalists of the 20th century with high relief portraits and stunning medallic art.

* For 1973: Louis Brandeis, George Washington Carver, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Phillip Sousa. For 1976: Clara Barton, Luther Burbank and Andrew Carnegie.

Collector's Guide

Adams, John

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Donald DeLue
Year Issued: 1971

Adams, John Quincey

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: EvAngelos Frudakis
Year Issued: 1972

Addams, Jane

Category: Humanitarian
Year Elected: 1965
Sculptor: Granville Carter
Year Issued: 1968

Agassiz, Louis

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Gertrude Lathrop
Year Issued: 1966

Anthony, Susan B.

Category: Humanitarian
Year Elected: 1950
Sculptor: Paul Fjelde
Year Issued: 1963

Audubon, John James

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Gertrude Lathrop
Year Issued: 1963

Bancroft, George

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: Adlai S. Hardin
Year Issued: 1964

Beecher, Henry Ward

Category: Clergyman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Joseph Kiselewski
Year Issued: 1963

Bell, Alexander Graham

Category: Inventor
Year Elected: 1950
Sculptor: Stanley Martineau
Year Issued: 1963

Boone, Daniel

Category: Explorer
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1966

Booth, Edwin Thomas

Category: Artist
Year Elected: 1925
Sculptor: Agop Agopff
Year Issued: 1970

Brooks, Phillips

Category: Clergyman
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: Abram Belskie
Year Issued: 1965

Bryant, William Cullen

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: Agop Agopff
Year Issued: 1967

Channing, William E.

Category: Clergyman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Albert W. Wein
Year Issued: 1968

Choate, Rufus

Category: Lawyer
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Eleanor Platt
Year Issued: 1973

Clay, Henry

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: John Terken
Year Issued: 1973

Clemens, Samuel L.

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1920
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1963

Cleveland, Grover

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1935
Sculptor: Albert P. d'Andrea
Year Issued: 1966

Cooper, James Fenimore

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: Granville Carter
Year Issued: 1963

Cooper, Peter

Category: Philantropist
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Anthony de Francisci
Year Issued: 1963

Cushman, Charlotte S.

Category: Artist
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Robert A. Weinman
Year Issued: 1974

Eads, James Buchanan

Category: Engineer
Year Elected: 1920
Sculptor: Robert A. Weinman
Year Issued: 1971

Edison, Thomas Alva

Category: Inventor
Year Elected: 1960
Sculptor: Granville Carter
Year Issued: 1965

Edwards, Jonathan

Category: Preacher
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Elisabeth Chandler
Year Issued: 1972

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Dexter Jones
Year Issued: 1968

Farragut, David Glasgow

Category: Military
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Laci de Gerenday
Year Issued: 1967

Foster, Stephen Collins

Category: Artist
Year Elected: 1940
Sculptor: Walker Hancock
Year Issued: 1963

Franklin, Benjamin

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Elisabeth Chandler
Year Issued: 1963

Fulton, Robert

Category: Inventor
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Ralph J. Menconi
Year Issued: 1966

Gibbs, Josiah Willard

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1950
Sculptor: Stanley Martineau
Year Issued: 1964

Gorgas, William C.

Category: Physician
Year Elected: 1950
Sculptor: Abram Belskie
Year Issued: 1969

Grant, Ulysses Simpson

Category: Military
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Thomas H. Jones
Year Issued: 1963

Gray, Asa

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Bruno Mankowski
Year Issued: 1972

Hamilton, Alexander

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Margaret C. Grigor
Year Issued: 1971

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1965

Henry, Joseph

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Adlai S. Hardin
Year Issued: 1972

Henry, Patrick

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1920
Sculptor: Thomas Lo Medico
Year Issued: 1966

Holmes, Oliver Wendell Jr.

Category: Lawyer
Year Elected: 1965
Sculptor: Joseph Kiselewski
Year Issued: 1970

Holmes, Oliver Wendell Sr.

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1965

Hopkins, Mark

Category: Educator
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Joseph E. Renier
Year Issued: 1963

Howe, Elias

Category: Inventor
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Frank Gasparro
Year Issued: 1971

Irving, Washington

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Adolph Block
Year Issued: 1968

Jackson, Andrew

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1971

Jackson, T.J. "Stonewall"

Category: Military
Year Elected: 1955
Sculptor: Granville Carter
Year Issued: 1972

Jefferson, Thomas

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Sidney B. Waugh
Year Issued: 1963

Jones, John Paul

Category: Military
Year Elected: 1925
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1968

Kent, James

Category: Lawyer
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Eleanor Platt
Year Issued: 1968

Lanier, Sidney

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1945
Sculptor: Julian H. Harris
Year Issued: 1969

Lee, Robert E.

Category: Military
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Donald DeLue
Year Issued: 1965

Lincoln, Abraham

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Anthony de Francisci
Year Issued: 1963

Longfellow, Henry W.

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Anthony Notaro
Year Issued: 1970

Lowell, James Russell

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: Carl C. Mose
Year Issued: 1970

Lyon, Mary

Category: Education
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: Laura G. Fraser & Karl Gruppe
Year Issued: 1967

MacDowell, Edward A.

Category: Artist
Year Elected: 1960
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1964

Madison, James

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: Robert A. Weinman
Year Issued: 1969

Mann, Horace

Category: Educator
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1971

Marshall, John

Category: Lawyer
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Karl Gruppe
Year Issued: 1965

Maury, Matthew Fontaine

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1930
Sculptor: Donald DeLue
Year Issued: 1974

Michelson, Albert

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1970
Sculptor: Elisabeth Chandler
Year Issued: 1973

Mitchell, Maria

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: Eleanor Platt
Year Issued: 1965

Monroe, James

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1930
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1968

Morse, Samuel F.B.

Category: Inventor
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1963

Morton, William T.G.

Category: Physician
Year Elected: 1920
Sculptor: Abram Belskie
Year Issued: 1966

Motley, John Lothrop

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1970

Newcomb, Simon

Category: Scientist
Year Elected: 1935
Sculptor: Adolph Block
Year Issued: 1970

Paine, Thomas

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1945
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1969

Palmer, Alice Freeman

Category: Educator
Year Elected: 1920
Sculptor: Thomas Lo Medico
Year Issued: 1964

Parkman, Francis

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1915
Sculptor: Edward R. Grove
Year Issued: 1971

Peabody, George

Category: Philantropist
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Abram Belskie
Year Issued: 1974

Penn, William

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1935
Sculptor: Edward R. Grove
Year Issued: 1966

Poe, Edgar Allan

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1963

Reed, Walter

Category: Physician
Year Elected: 1945
Sculptor: Abram Belskie
Year Issued: 1963

Roosevelt, Theodore

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1950
Sculptor: Albino Manca
Year Issued: 1969

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Category: Artist
Year Elected: 1920
Sculptor: Stanley Martineau
Year Issued: 1971

Sherman, William T.

Category: Military
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1973

Story, Joseph

Category: Lawyer
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Nathaniel Choate
Year Issued: 1964

Stowe, Harriet Beecher

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
Year Issued: 1975

Stuart, Gilbert C.

Category: Artist
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Laura G. Fraser & Karl Gruppe
Year Issued: 1968

Thayer, Sylvanus

Category: Educator
Year Elected: 1965
Sculptor: Joseph Kiselewski
Year Issued: 1966

Thoreau, Henry David

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1960
Sculptor: Malvina Hoffman
Year Issued: 1963

Wald, Lillian

Category: Humanitarian
Year Elected: 1970
Sculptor: EvAngelos Frudakis
Year Issued: 1971

Washington, Booker T.

Category: Educator
Year Elected: 1945
Sculptor: Ralph J. Menconi
Year Issued: 1970

Washington, George

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Granville Carter
Year Issued: 1966

Webster, Daniel

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Robert A, Weinman
Year Issued: 1966

Westinghouse, George

Category: Inventor
Year Elected: 1955
Sculptor: Edmondo Quattrocchi
Year Issued: 1963

Whistler, James A.M.

Category: Artist
Year Elected: 1930
Sculptor: Stanley Martineau
Year Issued: 1972

Whitman, Walt

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1930
Sculptor: Dexter Jones
Year Issued: 1971

Whitney, Eli

Category: Inventor
Year Elected: 1900
Sculptor: Eleanor Platt
Year Issued: 1963

Whittier, John Greenleaf

Category: Author
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: Elizabeth Weistrop
Year Issued: 1966

Willard, Emma

Category: Educator
Year Elected: 1905
Sculptor: Robert A. Weinman
Year Issued: 1968

Willard, Frances E.

Category: Humanitarian
Year Elected: 1910
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1969

Williams, Roger

Category: Clergyman
Year Elected: 1920
Sculptor: Robert A. Weinman
Year Issued: 1963

Wilson, Woodrow

Category: Statesman
Year Elected: 1950
Sculptor: C. Paul Jennewein
Year Issued: 1966

Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur)

Category: Inventors
Year Elected: 1955/1965
Sculptor: Paul Fjelde
Year Issued: 1967

Printable Version

A printable formatted version of the MCA Hall of Fame for Great Americans at New York University Collector's Guide (pdf) is available.