Bronze, 4 7/8 inches (12.4 cm.) diameter,
Adams National Historic Site, Quincy, Massachusetts

Henry Adams (1838-1918) was a philosopher-historian, writer and relative of two presidents. He taught at Harvard University, then moved with his wife Marian Hooper Adams to Washington, D.C., in 1877. It was for Marian's gravesite that Adams commissioned Saint-Gaudens to create the Adams Memorial. Adams and his close friend John Hay built adjoining houses on Lafayette Square, designed by architect Henry H. Richardson. Saint-Gaudens visited Adams and Hay on his many trips to Washington between 1900 and 1904.  

In 1904 Saint-Gaudens made this caricature of Adams which symbolized the "outward gruffness and inner gentleness" of the historian. Both Hay and he referred to Adams as "Porcupinus Angelicus", or "Porcupinus Poeticus," and Adams is depicted on this medallion with wings above and porcupine quills below. Saint-Gaudens sent Hay, Secretary of State at the time, to deliver the caricature to Adams in Paris. It was sent like a diplomatic message, complete with couriers and seals.