Clyde Curlee Trees
Clyde Curlee Trees was an American businessman whose leadership helped shape the direction of modern medallic art in the United States. After joining the Medallic Art Company in the 1910s, he became a driving force behind its expansion, introducing new business practices, acquiring industrial equipment, and guiding the firm through a period of rapid growth. Trees played a central role in commissioning prominent sculptors and engravers—including U.S. Mint Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock—and oversaw major government and private medal programs. Under his management, the company produced millions of military service medals during World War II, establishing itself as a leading American medallic manufacturer.
In 1929, Trees co‑founded the Society of Medalists with philanthropist George Dupont Pratt, creating what became the longest‑running and most influential medallic art society in the United States. Modeled on European precedents and conceived as the successor to the Circle of Friends of the Medallion, the Society issued 139 medals over six decades and attracted many of the nation's foremost sculptors. Trees’ advocacy for medallic art, his collaborations with leading artists, and his stewardship of both the Medallic Art Company and the Society of Medalists earned him the National Sculpture Society's Medal of Honor and secured his legacy as a key figure in the history of American medallic design.
Early life
Trees was born on March 27, 1885, in Center, Howard County, Indiana.Career
Trees was a businessman from Indiana.He became a partner of Henri and Felix Weil at the Medallic Art Company during the 1910s.
Trees moved the company into larger quarters in New York City and purchased its first press equipment.
He encouraged the Weil brothers to adopt more businesslike practices, including advertising their services.
By 1929, disagreements over the company's direction led Trees to raise enough capital to buy out the Weil brothers.
Society of Medalists
In 1929, Trees co‑founded the Society of Medalists together with philanthropist George Dupont Pratt.The Society was conceived as the successor to the Circle of Friends of the Medallion and was modeled on European medallic art societies.
Beginning in 1930, the Society issued two medals per year.
Over its 66‑year history, the Society issued 139 medals, including 134 regular issues and 5 special issues.
The Society recruited a committee of prominent sculptors who solicited medal designs from leading American artists.
Work with John R. Sinnock
During his tenure at the Medallic Art Company, Trees commissioned U.S. Mint Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock to create a series of portrait medals of the company's board of directors.One of these works was a bronze galvano plaque of Trees produced in 1940.
Honors
Trees received the National Sculpture Society's Medal of Honor for his promotion of medallic art in the United States.Later years and death
During World War II, the Medallic Art Company produced millions of military service medals for the U.S. government, a period that made Trees a millionaire.Trees selected Daniel Chester French's Columbia from the Catskill Aqueduct Medal as the company's logo after becoming fond of the design.
As of 1959, Trees lived at Sutton House.
Trees died on October 2, 1960, in New York City.