The Robert Loren Miller Memorial Award
An annual award as a memorial to Charter Member and long-time MC&H Art Editor Robert L. Miller was approved by the Governors at their meeting in Lexington, VA in 1973. The award, in the form of a handsome 2-1/2 inch bronze medal will be presented each year to the Member whose exhibit at the annual meeting is judged “Best of Show.” The Award is designed to encourage more exhibits, exhibits of even finer material than in the past and historical interpretation of the exhibited material for the enjoyment and edification of exhibitors and attending members alike.
The medal was conceived and executed by a group of Bob’s friends who offered it for use as an annual award to the three related organizations in which Bob was active: The North South Skirmish Association, The Potomac Arms Collectors Association, and The Company. All three have accepted the medal for use as an annual award. The noted metallic sculptor, Edward R. Groves, who was a lifetime friend of Bob and Adrian Miller’s designed and sculptured the plaster cast from which the die for the medal was cut. Metallic Arts of Danbury, Conn., America’s foremost producer of art medals struck the medals in high relief.
Presenting the award to the best exhibit is especially appropriate as Bob Miller invariably exhibited interesting and significant material from his own collection at Company meetings. He was an exhibit prize winner himself, having received a medal for his exhibit of Fredericksburg Manufactory arms at a National Rifle Association show many years ago. It is understood that the North South Skirmish Association will make the award for the most authentically uniformed and accoutered man at its annual gathering and that the Potomac Arms Collectors will make the award for the best exhibit at its annual show.
Rules
1. Exhibits will be judged on the following points:
– Appropriateness to The Company’s field of interest.
– Significance and interest of the exhibited material.
– Design and excellence of the exhibit in displaying the material and its interpretative labels in a logical, attractive, and tasteful manner.
– Interpretation of the material exhibited in order to explain it put it into historical context, or tell a historical story.
2. Exhibits will be judged by each member attending the meeting. Ballots of these members will be collected prior to the annual banquet. In addition to the award of “Best of Show,” any number of exhibits may be designated as receiving “Honorable Mention.”
3. Institutions and professional curators, while eligible to exhibit, are not eligible to compete for the Miller Award.
4. The winner will be announced and the award of the medal will be made at the annual banquet.
A complete list of Miller Award recipients is below. The list is searchable and sortable.
Miller Award Recipients