The Hall of Fame for Great Americans provides a window into the cultural changes taking place in the United States from the turn of the twentieth century into the twenty-first. This book is the first examination of the institutional and social history of America’s first hall of fame, from its dynamic opening in 1901 through its protracted decline in the late twentieth century and its brief return to relevancy in the early twenty-first century. It also examines in depth what is arguably the least studied project of Stanford White, one of the most distinguished architects of the Gilded Age. Originally designed for New York University’s new campus in the Bronx, the Hall of Fame once housed ninety-eight bronze busts of men and women deemed “great Americans” within its elegant colonnade, including the likes of George Washington, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Booker T. Washington, Susan B. Anthony, and Robert E. Lee. The Hall was conceived when the Great Man theory dominated American thought. However, as times changed, challenges to ideas concerning greatness and heroism grew, and heroes once celebrated were scrutinized for their flaws. The monument is now a shell of its former glory and largely forgotten, and the NYU campus that once housed the colonnade was eventually sold to Bronx Community College. In 2017, following the violent demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, by white supremacists attempting to prevent the removal of a monument to General Lee, Andrew Cuomo, then governor of New York, thrust the Hall of Fame back into the limelight by ordering the busts of Lee and Stonewall Jackson to be removed. This action joined a national trend to remove monuments deemed offensive. Gerami argues that the rise and fall of this institution mirrors the nation’s changing conception of what comprises a hero. This biography of a public art memorial answers questions about the importance of art history and the cultural evolution of what it means to be great in America.

This 200-page book explores one of America's greatest series of high-quality art medals, struck in .999 silver and bronze from 1963 to 1974 but largely forgotten by collectors today. The medals portray 94 Americans honored in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans that was launched in 1900 by New York University (NYU).Elected by a nationwide panel were men and women prominent in 15 categories including explorers, statesmen, writers, artists, scientists, poets, military men, historians, medical men and engineers. The medal series was boldly publicized after 1963 but faded away after 1974 despite exceptional designs by 43 of the country's leading medallic sculptors. The Hall of Fame included bronze busts of elected honorees placed in a colonnade flanking the Gould Memorial Library of NYU's Bronx campus. Since the early 1970's, this campus has been home to Bronx Community College. Medals were offered in 44.5-millimeter bronze and .999 silver as well as 76mm bronze. The complete roster as struck included such famous figures as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and comparatively obscure individuals such as actress Charlotte Cushman and oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury. Each medal bears a high relief portrait and a reverse design illustrating the honoree's achievements.The new book was compiled by one of America's leading scholars of medal history and is published by the Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP). It can be viewed through its link https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/booksbyauthor/130.