One June 7, 2025, ten competitors will model from life during the Richard McDermott Miller Competition.  They are:

Austen Brantley @austenbrantley

Jordan Hein @jt_ichihashi

Brenton Henriques @brenton.henriques

Eddie Holecko @eddieholecko

Pema Kongpo @pemakingpin

Liza Little @lizagracelittle_sculptor

Tanya Lucero @tanyainc

Quintin McCann @quintin.mccann.art

Kelly Micca @kellymicca

Joseph Zovickian @zovickian

The NSS Education Committee of Alicia Ponzio, Michael Keropian and Nilda Comas selected the competitors earlier this year. The objective is to successfully model a bust from life (from the neck up), working from a live model. This year, the competition will take place at the New York Academy of Art in Tribeca.

At the end of four hours, a Jury of Awards will distribute the following awards:

Richard McDermott Miller Prize of $3,000

Roger T. Williams Prize of $1,500

Walter & Michael Lantz Prize of $750

The National Sculpture Society is pleased to have so many 2025 supporters:

New this year, the three prize winners will each recieve a Robin R. Salmon Award of $1,000 sponosored by the Fantasy Fountain Fund.

The competition is underwritten, in part, by Dwight S. and Luz-Mary Harris.

Participation Scholarships for each competitor are funded by a gift from the Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, NY, and from bequests from Charlotte Geffken and Roger T. Williams.

The competitors each recieve a complimentary one-year Associate membership sponsored by the Robert J. Spring Endowment and Modern Art Foundry Foundation.

Bruner F. Barrie, on the closure of Sculpture House, donated several sculpting tool kits to the NSS to be distributed to each competitor.

The National Sculpture Society has hosted modeling competitions for young and emerging sculptors since the 20th century. The current format is named for Richard McDermott Miller (1922-2004), a gifted artist, inventor, college professor, and published writer. Miller served as the Society’s president from 1997-2000. With his passing, he left a generous bequest to the Society. Miller’s autobiography, Heading for New York: A Sculptor’s Journey, descibes his life between his birth in Ohio and his fortieth year when he became a full-time sculptor in NYC. Each competitor will receive a copy of the book (also for sale here).