Victor David Brenner (born Avigdor David Brenner; June 12, 1871 – April 5, 1924) was an American sculptor, engraver, and

medalist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

known primarily as the designer of the United States

Lincoln Cent The Lincoln cent (sometimes called the Lincoln penny) is a one-cent coin that has been struck by the United States Mint since 1909. The obverse or heads side was designed by Victor David Brenner, as was the original reverse, depicting two stalks ...

Biography

Brenner was born to Jewish parents in

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. His name at birth was Avigdor David Brenner ("Avigdor ben Gershon," in Hebrew, as his gravestone attests), but he changed the name to Victor David Brenner. He emigrated to the United States in 1890, living mostly in the New York City area. When Brenner arrived in America, he had little more to fall back upon except the trade taught to him by his father — gem and seal engraving. This technical preparation included the tools of the sculptor's craft. He took night classes at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

. Brenner soon mastered English as he had mastered French. Eight years later Brenner was in Paris, studying with the great French medalist Oscar Roty at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

. There he exhibited his work and obtained awards at the

Paris Exposition of 1900 The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

. He returned to the United States, and from that time on his career prospered. He appeared to be on his way to the fulfilment of the splendid predictions made for his future by

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

. Brenner died in 1924 and is buried at Mount Judah Cemetery,

Ridgewood, Queens Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and East Williamsburg. Historically, the neighborhood s ...

, New York.

Lincoln cent

Brenner is probably best known for his enduring Lincoln coin design, 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 which is the longest-running design in

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 ...

history, and perhaps the most reproduced piece of art in world history. Brenner's design had been picked by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, who had earlier posed for him in New York. Since arriving nineteen years earlier in the United States, Brenner had become one of the nation's premier medalists. Roosevelt had learned of Brenner's talents in a settlement house on New York City's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

and was immediately impressed with a

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

that Brenner had made of Lincoln, based on the early

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

era photographer,

Mathew Brady Mathew B. Brady ( – January 15, 1896) was one of the earliest photographers in American history. Best known for his scenes of the American Civil War, Civil War, he studied under inventor Samuel Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique ...

's photograph. Roosevelt, who considered Lincoln the savior of the Union, the greatest Republican president and also considered himself Lincoln's political heir, ordered the new Lincoln penny to be based on Brenner's work and that it be produced to commemorate Lincoln's 100th birthday in 1909. The likeness of President Lincoln on the obverse of the coin is an adaptation of a plaque Brenner executed several years earlier and which had come to the attention of President Roosevelt in New York. President Abraham Lincoln, half-length portrait, seated, right profile LCCN2013648775

President Abraham Lincoln, half-length portrait, seated, right profile LCCN2013648775

Bronze bas-reliefs dated 1907 and signed by Brenner have been identified and some sold in auctions for as much as $3,900. Charles Eliot Norton of Harvard, whom Brenner counted among his friends, gave the sculptor an unpublished portrait of Lincoln which served Brenner as a basis for Lincoln's features. He also examined other portraits.Gardner C. Teall, "The Lincoln Cent and its Maker," ''Harper's Weekly'', 1909, p. 24. When Brenner forwarded the model of the Lincoln cent to the Director of the Mint, the design bore his whole name, after the fashion of the signatures on the coinage of other countries, notably on the gold coins which Oscar Roty designed for France. The Director, however, decided to have the initials substituted for the name. Following the precedent of

James B. Longacre James Barton Longacre (August 11, 1794 – January 1, 1869) was an American portraitist and engraver, and the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 until his death. Longacre is best known for designing the Indian Head cent, ...

, whose initials "JBL" (or simply "L") graced a number of U.S. coin designs for much of the latter half of the 19th century, Brenner placed his initials "VDB" at the bottom of the reverse between the wheat ear stalks. Widespread criticism of the initials' prominence resulted in their removal midway through 1909, the design's first year of issue. In 1918, Brenner's initials returned as small letters below Lincoln's shoulder, where they remain today. (The incorporation of the designer's initials into a coin design is now commonplace in the U.S.) MarsCuriosityRover-Penny-20131002

A 1909 VDB US cent was mounted on the calibration target on the Mars ''Curiosity'' rover. This is a nod to the rover's geologic mission and the common practice by geologists including a coin in photographs to document the size of objects.Catalog Page for PIA16131
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Works

Some of Brenner's most noteworthy sculptural works include: # Rev. Dr Muhlenberg Medal (issued by the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society) # Portrait-

plaquette A plaquette (, ''small plaque'') is a small low relief sculpture in bronze or other materials. These were popular in the Italian Renaissance and later. They may be commemorative, but especially in the Renaissance and Mannerist periods were oft ...

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

# Portrait medallion of J. Sanford Saltus # Portrait medallion of C. Delacour # Portrait-plaquette of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

(the same plaquette that was used in the design of the Lincoln cent) # Portrait medallion of

Prince Heinrich of Prussia A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

(1902) # Portrait bas-relief of

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

# Portrait bas-relief of Carl Schurz # Bust of

Charles Eliot Norton Charles Eliot Norton (November 16, 1827 – October 21, 1908) was an American author, social critic, and Harvard professor of art based in New England. He was a progressive social reformer and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries c ...

# Seal of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

# Portrait of

Spencer Trask Spencer Trask (September 18, 1844 – December 31, 1909) was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the ele ...

. # '' A Song to Nature'' in Schenley Plaza at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

Gallery

Image:Brenner New York Public Library Seal.jpg, Seal designed for the New York Public Library Image:Brenner Charles Eliot Norton.jpg, Bust of Charles Eliot Norton Image:Brenner Carl Schurz.jpg, Bas-relief of Carl Schurz Image:Brenner Prince Henry of Prussia 1902.jpg, Medallion designed for the visit of Prince Heinrich of Prussia in 1902 Image:Brenner John Paul Jones.jpg, Bas-relief of John Paul Jones File:SchenleyFountainAndCathedralLearning.jpg, ''A Song to Nature'', part of the

Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain The Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain, also known as ''A Song to Nature'', is a 1918 landmark public sculpture in bronze and granite by Victor David Brenner. It sits in Schenley Plaza at the entrance to Schenley Park and directly in front of the Un ...

located in Pittsburgh, was Brenner's first large sculpture in the round Image:US One Cent Obv.png, US One Cent Image:1909-S VDB Lincoln cent reverse.jpg, Reverse of a 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent

References

External links

*
PCGS
The Professional Coin Grading Service's biography of Victor David Brenner *

Leonard Forrer Leonard Forrer or Leonhard Forrer (7 November 1869, Winterthur, Switzerland - 17 November 1953, Bromley, United Kingdom) was a Swiss-born numismatist and coin dealer. He was later naturalised as a British subject.Herbert A. Cahn: ''Leonard Forrer ...