A Lexington author strikes gold - or, perhaps more fitting, coins - in his new book.

Michael Moran, author of “Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens,” explores the bond between the 26th U.S. president and the world-renowned sculptor.

“Striking Change” delves into the lives of these two influential figures through first-person accounts and confidential conversations, exploring the dramatic personalities involved.

In 1905 President Roosevelt challenged Saint-Gaudens to create coinage for the United States that would be as beautiful as the coins the ancient Greeks used, according to the Web site of Whitman Publishing (www.whitmanbooks.com), which published the book. “Striking Change” examines the partnership that was formed by Saint-Gaudens and Roosevelt to redesign the country’s numismatic, or coin-based, art, according to the Web site.

“Readers will find the characters and events fascinating and indicative of the close-knit world of art and politics in the era of Theodore Roosevelt,” said Henry J. Duffy, curator of the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in New Hampshire.

Moran will give a free lecture, “From the Monumental to the Miniature,” on Sunday at 2 p.m in the UK Art Museum, located in the Singletary Center for the Arts. A book signing will follow. Many of Saint-Gaudens’s coins from his final designs for Roosevelt will be on display.