Richard Alan Masters (born August 5, 1955) is a graphic designer, studio artist, and coin designer.
Academic career Masters graduated from the University of Iowa art school where he received a BA, MA, and MFA. He subsequently moved to Wisconsin where he worked as a freelance illustrator and as a professor of graphic design at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh where he was selected for the SNC Professor of International Relations Endowed Professorship Award.
Studio art career Masters works most often in graphite or colored pencil, though he has worked in other media. His work is often described as painstakingly detailed, with subject matter ranging from nature scenes and architectural representations to the somber aspects of city life and homelessness. His works have been shown at invited and juried exhibitions throughout the world, and have won numerous awards, including the Allied Artists of American top award, the Audrey Love Memorial Award in 2021.
Coin designs
In 2004, Masters became an inaugural member of the United States Mint's Artistic Infusion Program as a Master Designer. This program brought artists with expertise in visual arts to enrich and elevate the design of coins for the US Mint. He applied to the program as a lifelong coin collector. A prolific designer, his designs were selected for over 30 coins and medals. As of 2024, he is still an active member of the program, and the only remaining original member.
His first design was the reverse of the Nebraska quarter for the State Quarters Program in 2006. His designs went on to garner awards such as the Coin of the Year award for best contemporary event in 2009 for his Little Rock Central High School Desegregation silver dollar design, an accomplishment repeated with the 2021 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin, winning the award for best gold coin.
One of his designs, featuring a Samoa flying fox, a species of fruit bat, representing the National Park of American Samoa, was central to conspiracy theories that the United States government was involved in the dissemination of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. This theory was thoroughly debunked, but gave the coin design some short-lived infamy. +Minted designsYearDesignCategoryNotes2006State Quarters Program - Nebraska reversecoin2007Little Rock Central High School Desegregation silver dollar - obversecoinWinner of Coin of the Year Award2009Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coin Program (Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky) - reversecoin2009District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program - Northern Mariana Islands reversecoin2011Native American $1 Coin Program - reversecoin2011First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program - Julia Grant reversecoin and medal2011United States Army Commemorative Coin Program – Silver obversecoin2011Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Program – Silver reversecoin2012Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coin Program – Gold reverscoin20135-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Program – Silver obversecoin2013First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Helen Taft reversecoin and medal2008Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – Comanche Nation obversemedal2010Professor Muhammad Yunus Congressional Gold Medal – reversemedal2014First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Lou Hoover reversecoin and medal2015U.S. Marshals Service 225th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program – Silver obversecoin2015First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Mamie Eisenhower obversecoin and medal2015First Special Service Force Congressional Gold Medal medal2016Presidential $1 Coins – Ronald Reagan obversecoin2016First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Patricia Ryan “Pat” Nixon obverse and reversecoin and medal2017America the Beautiful Quarters Program – Effigy Mounds National Monument reversecoin2018America the Beautiful Quarters Program – Apostle Islands National Lakeshore reversecoin2019American Innovation $1 Coin Program – Pennsylvania reversecoin2019American Legion Commemorative Coin Program – Clad obverse and reversecoin2019American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin and Silver Medal – obversecoin and medalAmerican Veterans Silver Medal – reversemedal2020America the Beautiful Quarters Program – National Park of American Samoa reversecoin2020America the Beautiful Quarters Program – Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve reversecoin2020American Innovation $1 Coin Program – Connecticut reversecoin2021American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin and Silver Medal – reversecoin and medalWinner of Coin of the Year Award2021U.S. Armed Forces Silver Medals Program – Coast Guard obversemedal2019Katherine Johnson Hidden Figures Bronze Medal - reversemedal2019Dorothy Vaughan Hidden Figures Bronze Medal - reversemedal2020Merrill’s Marauders Congressional Gold Medal – reversemedalPresidential Medal Program – George W. Bush (Term 2) reversemedalPresidential Medal Program – Barack Obama (Term 1) obversemedal
Personal life Masters retired from teaching in 2015, and now lives in New York City with his wife, MeeWha Alana Lee. He continues to pursue studio art and exhibits his work broadly, garnering many honors for his works.
References