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Medal, Plaquette, c.1905, Bronze, France. ANGE AU VIOLON - ANGEL WITH VIOLIN, by Theodore Spicer-Simpson (1871-1959). Uniface. Obv. Angel Kneeling left, Playing a Violin; Rv. Blank. RARE. Size: 50mm x 53mm. Extremely Attractive and highly sought after, and created by a world renowned medallist and author. Catalogue General Illustre vol. 3 367/D.
Theodore Spicer-Simpson was born at le Havre, France on June 25, 1871. He attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris to study sculpture. In Paris he met Margaret Schmidt and followed her to Washington, D.C. where they were married on July 1, 1896. When the United States entered the Spanish American War in 1899, they moved to Paris where he met and worked with sculptor Jean Dampt. Living in the Montparnasse section of Paris he met many artists and literary figures, many of which were later to be subject of his medallions, including Leo and Ella Mielziner, Henri Monod, James Stephens, and many others. Many prominent people on both sides of the Atlantic sat for Spicer-Simpson, including three United States Presidents.