Joe Fitzgerald (born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) is an American artist and graphic designer. He is one of two designers of the 2005

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

. His design, ''President Jefferson with Handwritten Liberty'', appears on the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

of that coin. Fitzgerald is a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, who has had numerous one-man-shows. His work has also been exhibited in the U.S. State Department's Art in Embassies Program. He was one of twenty-four artists selected to create new designs under the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

Artistic Infusion Program The Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) is a program of the United States Mint, established in 2003, which invites American artists to create designs for U.S. coins and medals, most notably the 50 State, DC and US Territories, and America the Beautif ...

. Fitzgerald retired in 2005 as the chief of graphics at the

National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. Its ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. While with the Library, he led or participated artistically in numerous projects and exhibitions over the years, such as the ''Turning the Pages'' series of rare-book animations and the ''Visible Human Project''. He is also known as a public speaker. His wife, Jean Fitzgerald, has retired from her position as an

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

with the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. He is listed in ''Who's Who'' and ''Who's Who in American Art''.

External links

2005 Obverse Design, from the U.S. Mint
from The New York Times Year of birth missing (living people) Artists from Washington, D.C. United States Mint engravers American currency designers Living people Coin designers {{US-artist-stub