Donald Richard Miller (American, 1925-1989), NDOVU (Swahili for African Bush Elephant)

1985, patinated bronze, unsigned, mounted atop an oak base. 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.

10 x 11 1/4 x 9 1/4 in.

The third bronze from the mother and child series, is the elephant. Don admired the African species greatly, ever since he assisted in the enlargement of the plaster model for the carved stone elephants made by Heinz Warneke for the Philadelphia Zoo. The knowledge displayed in this piece is a far cry from the pachyderm anatomy of the school years. The simplification of the for is still here, by enhanced by years of practice and knowledge.

FFollowing 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.

Good condition.