CHESTER Y. MARTIN (1934-2022)

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V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 25, Number 13, March 27, 2022, Article 10

George Cuhaj submitted this obituary of U.S. Mint sculptor/engraver Chester Martin. George provided all the photos and took the one of Chester at his work table with plaster busts in the background. Thanks! -Editor

If one spent any time with Chester Martin you learned many things. First was that he was a life-long resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee and graduate of Kirkman Technical High School and the University of Chattanooga. He loved the history of his city and could relate stories of particular events with great enthusiasm. A visitor would often be taken to Lookout Mountain or Chickamauga battlefields and informed of the battlefield plan, the state of the art aquarium, art museum, Medal of Honor Museum, TVA facilities or a game of the double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.

A special treat for me was a visit to the Old train station (now hotel) a ride on the incline plane railroad up to Lookout Mountain, a tour of Rock City and a visit to the Chattanooga National Cemetery where the Andrew's Raiders monument is a highlight (The early railroads of the area, highlighted by the raid on the General would be an oft-visited art theme of his).

During his service stateside in the Air Force, he would take his leave in Europe, traveling around with his 8mm camera taking in the sights and vistas. Visitors would often be quizzed on cloud formations and contrails.

His graphic arts education got him jobs as an illustrator, but he was fond of painting in watercolor or oils scenes of old Chattanooga or classic rural hillside cabins. One of the murals done for a local club has been saved and was re-located to the visitor bureau office at the Chattanooga Municipal airport (Lovell Field) (CHA). (I could not confirm if it was still there).

Some of his porcelain works honored local Chattanooga sites. Done in a bi-colored Wedgewood style, the Fireman's fountain was so honored, as is St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, done at a time when he was trying to expand his market. Other porcelain works included an early streetcar of the St. Elmo Carline as well as the Nyberg automobile, a locally built car.

In the mid-1960s he entered several contests for U.S. commemorative stamp designs contests and every now and then he entered the national and state waterfowl stamp contests.

When the American Medallic Sculpture Association was founded he was an early member and he began to learn the skills needed to do bas-relief work. He attended the 1984 three-week John Cook Medallic Workshop at Penn State. His work was selected for a F.A.O. medal (1982), a Society of Medalists medal (1980, Snail and Galaxy, SOM 50th Anniversary) and a Brookgreen Gardens Medal (1984) (where a large bronze version of his SOM Snail is on display) and a FIDEM 50th Anniversary medal (1987). He attended the FIDEM congresses in Florence (1983), London (1992) and Budapest (1994) and had medals exhibited at most between 1983 and 2017.

From 1986-1992 Chester was a sculptor/engraver at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. He designed the Congressional medals for Andrew Wyeth and General Colin Powell. In the modern commemorative series he did the reverse of the 1992 White House Bicentennial Silver Dollar. Mint list medals include those for the Mint Directors Conference and Yosemite National Park Centennial.

In 1993 he was awarded the American Numismatic Association's Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture.

His watercolors had been represented by the Seaside Art Gallery in Nags Head, North Carolina.

His medallic works are represented in the collections of the Smithsonian, British Museum, Royal Swedish Coin Cabinet among others.

Since the mid-2010s he had been writing a column for the on-line page The Chattanoogan.com and the Chattanooga Times Free Press and they are available easily via a Google search.

In retirement he experienced some health issues relating to diabetes and some time ago had a partial foot amputation. He died of kidney failure and his plan was to be donated for research to Vanderbilt University's School of Medicine. Future memorial services will be private.

He is survived by his wife Patricia, daughter Sharon and grandchildren Forrest and Ian.

"The Eagle Scout portrait was done as he was a local youth and he liked the project he worked on.

"The book jacket cover used one of his paintings of the old Union Depot in Chattanooga.

"Although the female with hair blowing in the wind seems like a nude, as he was living in the bible belt, he would always put a hint of a one-piece bathing suit with the use of a subtle line."