George III, 1738-1820, King of Great Britain 1760 [obverse] 1800

This bronze medal of George III was created by Conrad Heinrich Küchler, likely in the late 18th or early 19th century. Medals like this one were often commissioned to commemorate significant events or to celebrate individuals, serving as a form of mass communication and royalist propaganda. Consider the context in which this medal was produced, during a time of revolution and upheaval both in America and France. How does the portrait of George III, with its classical profile and Latin inscription, seek to project an image of stability and authority? And how does that relate to the fact that the King lost the American colonies? As art historians we might consult numismatic records and government archives to further understand the medal's commission, distribution, and reception. The meaning of this object, like all art, is contingent upon its social and institutional context and its historical interpretation.