Joseph Francis Menna (born March 1970) is an American sculptor and engraver who has worked in both digital and traditional sculpture media. He has been the

Chief Engraver of the United States Mint The Chief Engraver of the United States Mint is the highest staff member at the United States Mint. The Chief Engraver is the person in charge of coin design and engraving of dies at all four United States Mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Franc ...

since February, 2019.

Biography

Menna trained formally at the University of the Arts in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, New York Academy Graduate School of Figurative Art in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy in

St. Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Menna sculpted the

reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

of the 2010 Lincoln Cent. He also supplemented his training with studies at Arts Students League, and the Sculpture Center in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Menna was raised in the Blackwood section of

Gloucester Township, New Jersey Gloucester Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 64,634, reflecting an increase of 284 (+0.4%) from the 64,350 counted in the 2000 census. The township ranked ...

. After graduating from

Highland Regional High School Highland Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Blackwood, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Gloucester Township in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. The school is part of th ...

he attended the University of the Arts in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

from which he graduated in 1992. He was awarded a master's degree in 1994 from the

New York Academy of Art The New York Academy of Art is a private art school in Tribeca, New York City. The academy offers a Master of Fine Arts degree with a focus on technical training and critical discourse as well as a Post-baccalaureate Certificate of Fine Art. The ...

. As a professional fine art sculptor, Menna's clients include the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, Fisher-Price and

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

, among others. In 2005, Menna joined the

as a medallic sculptor. He sculpted the design of United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer

Lyndall Bass Lyndall Bass (born July 5, 1952) is an American realist painter and teacher who primarily paints still lifes, flower paintings and symbolist figure paintings. She lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the designer ...

into the 2010 Lincoln Cent and his initials, JFM, appear on the reverse of the coin under the right side of the scroll. His sculpting work can also be seen on the 2014 Everglades National Park quarter. Menna has also done the Digital concept sculpture for the

Statue of Unity The ''Statue of Unity'' is the world's tallest statue, with a height of , located near Kevadia in the state of Gujarat, India. It depicts Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950), who was the first deputy p ...

, situated in Gujarat, India. It is currently the tallest statue in the world at 597 feet. In February 2019, Menna became the 14th Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. The position had been vacant since 2010. A resident of Bordentown, New Jersey, Menna and his wife have three children.Mucha, Pete
"Carving heroes and villains from virtual clay; Joseph Menna has worked on everything from Jefferson to Batman to the world's biggest statue."
March 18, 2014. Accessed July 22, 2020. "Menna met his wife at the Steiglitz academy. Julianna Menna, a painter with her own fantasy-world style, specializes in portraying grotesque characters in ornate dress.... They’re raising three children in Bordentown, Burlington County."

Awards and honors

Along with the 2010 Lincoln Cent, Menna is also credited with designing or sculpting: * 2007 Presidential One Dollar Coin Act#First Spouse Program, First Spouse Martha Washington obverse (design and sculpt) * 2007 Presidential One Dollar Coin Act#First Spouse Program, First Spouse Abigail Adams obverse (design and sculpt) * 2007 Utah 50 State Quarters, State Quarter reverse (design and sculpt) * 2007 Presidential $1 Coin Program, Presidential $1 George Washington obverse (design and sculpt) * 2007 Presidential $1 Coin Program, Presidential $1 Thomas Jefferson obverse (design and sculpt) * 2007 Presidential $1 Coin Program, Presidential $1 William Henry Harrison obverse (design and sculpt) * 2006 San Francisco Old Mint Gold, San Francisco Mint Gold obverse (sculpt)

References

External links

Joseph Menna at ArtstationAction Figure Insider's interview with Joseph MennaJoseph Menna's digital sculptures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menna, Joseph 20th-century American sculptors Living people New York Academy of Art alumni People from Bordentown, New Jersey People from Gloucester Township, New Jersey University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni United States Mint engravers 21st-century American sculptors 1970 births