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SOM#082, Tom Allen, Jr., Flame of Life - Pro Vita, 1970
[b]$40, with original box and brochure
Contact [email]jwbirks@hotmail.com[/email][/b]

[b]From the collection of John Birks[/b]

[i]Numbers Issued:  1,115 Bronze[/i]

[b]FROM THE ARTIST[/b]

Ecology, or the biology dealing with mutual relationships between organisms and their environment has become one of the vital concerns of all mankind.  Naturalists and conservationists have been warning us for many decades that the loss of a species creates an effect on the natural order of things.  Recently, through the work of other scientific disciplines, proof that man himself is destroying the very essence of this fabric (unless all of us consciously do what we can to prevent it), may place mankind in the same category as the passenger pigeon.  I have often thought while contemplating beautiful bridges, buildings, statues, paintings, music, literature, and the performing arts, what a waste all of these would be if there were no recognizable descendants to appreciate the finest efforts of man.

[i]Obverse[/i] --  Considering a flame as the symbol of life and that life is made up of the continuity of generations, brotherhood, and the respect and affection of one individual for another, then this is what the flame and the interwoven figures represent.  The present and the future of this universal life rest squarely in the palm of the hand of collective mankind.  Whether this life-force flame continues is dependent on how we relate with our own environment.

[i]Reverse[/i] – Within a stylized ring of flame representing the earth and humanity, the phrase – PRO VITA  – TERRA – AQUA – AER – 1970 – translated means that fertile earth, purer sea, fresh water and clean air are needed to sustain life.  The year to start is 1970!  The use of a mother tongue such as Latin is to express the continuity and universality of the problem.  I wonder how polluted the Tiber was in 500 BC?

[b]ABOUT THE ARTIST[/b]

Tom Allen, Jr. was born in Havana, Cuba, of American foreign correspondents (UPI).  He lived and attended schools in most of the Latin-American countries.  His first sketches were published in the Buenos Aires Herald in 1939.  He served in the Philippines during the second World War as a U.S. Army infantry sergeant and his sketches of this campaign were published by state-side newspapers.  He studied art and architecture at the University of Havana, the University of Madrid, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Spain, and graduated from George Washington University.  He has executed sculpture and mural commissions, including a 40-foot frieze at the Poor Richard Club of Philadelphia depicting the life of Benjamin Franklin, the medal and symbol of the Department of Recreation for the City of Philadelphia, trademarks for corporations, numerous bas-reliefs and tutto tondo busts for private collections, and initiated a pilot therapeutic program of arts and crafts in the Philadelphia penal system.  He was Scenic Designer at Valley Forge Music Fair, has designed and executed attractions at the Willow Grove Amusement Park and window displays for banks and stores, including John Wanamaker in Philadelphia.  He has exhibited his sculpture at shows of: the National Numismatic Society, the National Sculpture Society, the Smithsonian Institution, the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Hunterdon County Art Center, the Morris County Art Association, the East Brunswick Arts Council, and at numerous galleries.  He is or has been a member of the Art Directors Club, the International Center of Topographical Arts, and Artists Equity.


Keywords: sold

SOM#082, Tom Allen, Jr., Flame of Life - Pro Vita, 1970

$40, with original box and brochure
Contact jwbirks@hotmail.com


From the collection of John Birks

Numbers Issued: 1,115 Bronze

FROM THE ARTIST

Ecology, or the biology dealing with mutual relationships between organisms and their environment has become one of the vital concerns of all mankind. Naturalists and conservationists have been warning us for many decades that the loss of a species creates an effect on the natural order of things. Recently, through the work of other scientific disciplines, proof that man himself is destroying the very essence of this fabric (unless all of us consciously do what we can to prevent it), may place mankind in the same category as the passenger pigeon. I have often thought while contemplating beautiful bridges, buildings, statues, paintings, music, literature, and the performing arts, what a waste all of these would be if there were no recognizable descendants to appreciate the finest efforts of man.

Obverse -- Considering a flame as the symbol of life and that life is made up of the continuity of generations, brotherhood, and the respect and affection of one individual for another, then this is what the flame and the interwoven figures represent. The present and the future of this universal life rest squarely in the palm of the hand of collective mankind. Whether this life-force flame continues is dependent on how we relate with our own environment.

Reverse – Within a stylized ring of flame representing the earth and humanity, the phrase – PRO VITA – TERRA – AQUA – AER – 1970 – translated means that fertile earth, purer sea, fresh water and clean air are needed to sustain life. The year to start is 1970! The use of a mother tongue such as Latin is to express the continuity and universality of the problem. I wonder how polluted the Tiber was in 500 BC?

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Tom Allen, Jr. was born in Havana, Cuba, of American foreign correspondents (UPI). He lived and attended schools in most of the Latin-American countries. His first sketches were published in the Buenos Aires Herald in 1939. He served in the Philippines during the second World War as a U.S. Army infantry sergeant and his sketches of this campaign were published by state-side newspapers. He studied art and architecture at the University of Havana, the University of Madrid, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Spain, and graduated from George Washington University. He has executed sculpture and mural commissions, including a 40-foot frieze at the Poor Richard Club of Philadelphia depicting the life of Benjamin Franklin, the medal and symbol of the Department of Recreation for the City of Philadelphia, trademarks for corporations, numerous bas-reliefs and tutto tondo busts for private collections, and initiated a pilot therapeutic program of arts and crafts in the Philadelphia penal system. He was Scenic Designer at Valley Forge Music Fair, has designed and executed attractions at the Willow Grove Amusement Park and window displays for banks and stores, including John Wanamaker in Philadelphia. He has exhibited his sculpture at shows of: the National Numismatic Society, the National Sculpture Society, the Smithsonian Institution, the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Hunterdon County Art Center, the Morris County Art Association, the East Brunswick Arts Council, and at numerous galleries. He is or has been a member of the Art Directors Club, the International Center of Topographical Arts, and Artists Equity.

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