My friend Ron Dutton, who has died aged 90, was a sculptor, medallist and teacher whose enthusiasm and generosity helped revive the art of contemporary medal-making in Britain. Ron’s own sculpture and medals were widely admired, but perhaps his greatest achievement lay in helping transform the status of the medal itself.
In 1982 he co-founded the British Art Medal Society with Mark Jones of the British Museum. At the time, medal-making was often regarded as a rather old-fashioned pursuit. Ron saw something quite different: a small-scale sculptural form capable of addressing contemporary life with imagination, wit and originality.
