Merlin Szasz is the 2009 recipient of the American Numismatic Association’s Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture. The Rhode Island artist will accept the honor Aug. 8 at the ANA World’s Fair of Money® in Los Angeles.
Born in Lima, Ohio, Szasz earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for Sculpture (1964-65) and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) John R. Frazier Award for Excellence in Teaching (1996). Szasz is currently a professor of design in Foundation Studies at RISD.
The artist’s preferred medium is the struck medal. His body of medallic work is largely the result of commissions, public and private, from the late 1960s to the present. Szasz draws heavily on classical imagery, incorporating intelligence, harmony and refinement.
About American Numismatic Association
The American Numismatic Association is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging people to study and collect money and related items. The ANA helps its 32,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of education and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications, conventions and seminars. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or visit www.money.org.
