When an artist leaves his work to amuse people, he loses his time and their respect. If people are to be amused by artists, it must be by employing them in their legitimate occupation.

The artist is an interpreter of Nature. People learn to love Nature through pictures. To the artist, nothing is in vain; nothing beneath his notice. If he is great enough, he will exalt every subject which he treats.

One of the artists lives in Utah, though the Mint will not disclose the name of this artist until the final design has been approved.

How are we going to make painters by lecturing to them? We are going to make questioners, doubters, and talkers. We are going to make painters by painting ourselves, and by showing the paintings of others. By working frankly from our convictions, we are going to make them work frankly from theirs.

It was less of a battle and more of a showcase of the artists' work. Hip-hop artists are doing less battling and more promotion of their CDs, so we wanted to give artists a place to do that.

The Emerging Artist program is designed to encourage young artists and give them a place to show their work.