Marcel Jovine
American sculptor
title: "Marcel Jovine" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-coin-designers"] description: "American sculptor" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Jovine" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American sculptor ::
::data[format=table title="infobox artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Marcel Jovine |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Castellammare di Stabia |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Greenwich, Connecticut |
| nationality | * Italy |
| education | drawing courses |
| known_for | Visible Man/Woman |
| notable_works | 1987 Constitution commemorative coin |
| spouse | Angela D'Oro |
| children | daughter |
| :: |
| name = Marcel Jovine | birth_date = | birth_place = Castellammare di Stabia | death_date = | death_place = Greenwich, Connecticut | nationality = * Italy
- United States of America | education = drawing courses | known_for = Visible Man/Woman | notable_works = 1987 Constitution commemorative coin | spouse = Angela D'Oro | children = daughter
Marcel Jovine (1921 – January 20, 2003) was an Italian-born American sculptor who was best known as the creator of the toys "The Visible Man" and "The Visible Woman". He also created the municipal seal for the Borough of Closter, New Jersey, where he resided.{{Cite web | title = A History of Closter's Sculptors | url = http://rothschilddesign.com/hp/website/artists/index.html | first = William | last = Cahill | website = Closter, NJ Historic Preservation Commission | access-date = December 16, 2012
Early life
Jovine was born in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy and grew up in Naples, Italy and took courses in drawing while attending the Italian military academy. He was captured in North Africa while serving with the Italian Army. As a prisoner of war in a camp in Pennsylvania, he used his drawing skills to create designs and sculptures. He met his future wife, Angela D'Oro, after having seen her perform on piano for POWs. He returned to the United States to marry D'Oro after he was released following the conclusion of World War II. He and his wife bought a large Victorian-style home in Closter using the royalties he earned from a doll called "Blessed Event" that was acquired from him by the Ideal Toy Company.
Sculpting career
At a workshop in his Closter home, he developed toys that included pirate ships and military vehicles. His anatomically accurate models, "The Visible Man" and "The Visible Woman", created in the early 1960s, were his best-known creations.
Switching over to designing coins and medals in the 1970s, Jovine designed pieces for the 1980 Winter Olympics, for a $5 gold coin issued in 1987 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution, and for the reverse of the 1990 Eisenhower Centennial silver dollar. He also created bronze sculptures of notable horses that were distinguished by their lifelike appearance.
Jovine died in Greenwich, Connecticut at the age of 81 on January 20, 2003, while visiting his daughter.{{cite news | last = Kaufman | first = Michael T. | title = Marcel Jovine, 81; Designed Toys and Coins | language = en-US | work = The New York Times | url = https://nytimes.com/2003/01/27/nyregion/marcel-jovine-81-designed-toys-and-coins.html | date = January 27, 2003 | access-date = December 16, 2023 | issn = 0362-4331 | quote = Marcel Jovine, who shaped such popular toys as the Visible Man and the Visible Woman before becoming an award-winning designer of coins and a sculptor of racehorses, died last Monday in Greenwich, Conn., at the home of his daughter, Andrea Coopersmith. He was 81 and lived and worked in Closter, N.J.
References
category:1921 births category:2003 deaths category:20th-century American sculptors category:20th-century American male artists category:American male sculptors category:American currency designers category:artists from Naples category:Italian emigrants to the United States category:people from Closter, New Jersey ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::