The task of designing the Gallant Ship citation medallion fell to Jo Davidson. He was a well-regarded sculptor and worked in the same circles as the members of United States Commission of Fine Arts – this body oversaw the national design of sculptures, monuments, and medals for the federal government. He was also a close friend of President Franklin’s mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt and visited the White House from time to time over the course of the Roosevelt presidency. Just prior to being tapped to design the medallion, Mr. Davidson unveiled and installed a copy of his bronze bust of Andrew “Lincoln of the Seas” Furuseth at the eponymous Seaman’s Service Club in Manhattan on March 22, 1943; this club was loosely associated with the War Shipping Administration and was formed by Admiral E. S. Land for merchant seaman as they were without a service club of their own at the time. Among lubbers, one of Mr. Davidson’s more identifiable works is that of Gertrude Stein in Bryant Park outside of the New York Public Library Main Branch.
Col.: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution NPG.85.71
[Furuseth] had the kind of head that told you, the moment you clapped eyes on him, what he was and what he did. Furuseth looked like the figure head on a Norwegian ship, and he proved to be as fascinating as he looked. His sole interest in life was to improve the conditions of seamen throughout the world. He had been the sponsor of the late La Follette’s Seaman Act, which enabled a seaman to quit his job like any other worker instead of being put into irons for desertion. He refused to accept a higher wage than that of an ordinary seaman which was then $30 a month.
Jo Davidson. Between Sittings. The Dial Press, New York, 1951. p. 240.
Having a personal relationship with both President Roosevelt and Admiral Land probably resulted in him not having to go through the normal channels of design submission. Thus, the overall symbolism and committee debate as would be published in the minutes of the United States Commission of Fine Arts is absent. Very simply, the Gallant Ship citation medallion is:
A [circular plaque] depicting a ship at seas with “Gallant Ship” in twisted rope typeface below ship. Artist’s name and date inscribed.
AMMM item 1989.012.0002 description
As a design note, the ship presented on the medallion is a Victory-class vessel (VC2 design), complete with a gun emplacement on the bow. Its deck is stacked high with cargo. The sculptor emphasized the forward motion of the ship by depicting the bow cutting a boiling sea, with stacks fuming plumes of smoke. To further capture urgency, the artist buffed the surfaces of the ship to a mirror finish and made radial patterns in the sky surrounding the ship; these patterns radiate around the ship, making it appear as though it is racing through the fog of war.
There is a foreboding object ahead of to the ship’s port. Whatever it is – a submarine conning tower or another ship – the bow gun is trained on it.