Donald Richard Miller (American, 1925-1989), AL-LA-PAL-TAW (Seminole for Alligator)

Conceived in 1970, likely cast in 1988, edition 1 of 6, patinated bronze mounted atop a wood base, impressed signature, edition, and date "DRM 88 1/6" to the profile edge. Included with the Lot is a limited edition catalog The Animal Art of DONALD RICHARD MILLER, published by Harriet E. Phillips Press of Florida, New York.

3 x 21 3/4 x 12 5/8 in.

This composition was originally commissioned in 1970 on a bluestone base for a collector who saw a similar work of Miller's titled River Horse.

Following his service in World War II, Miller studied at the Dayton (Ohio) Art Institute (1947-52); the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn (1955-57); the Art Students League in New York (1958-61); and privately with Ulysses A. Ricci (1956-60). Don was a specialist in animal sculpture and his works include the Thoreau Medal for the Society of Medalists (1962); two reliefs for the Cincinnati Zoo (1975); another for the Philadelphia Zoo (1973); and gargoyles for Washington Cathedral (1976). He was a member of the faculty of the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, from 1972 until his death, and was a frequent contributor to and served on the editorial board of Sculpture Review, the publication of the National Sculpture Society. He was a vice president of the Society of Animal Artists for which he designed a medal.

Areas of staining to wood and minor spotting to patina.