The National Sculpture Society (NSS) awards Diane Collins the 2025 Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant. Three NSS Fellows, Rosetta (from CO), Gary Staab (from MO) and Joshua Tobey (from CO), reviewed the applications. The Grant is given annually to animal sculptors who have demonstrated a commitment to sculpting and an outstanding ability in their body of work. It consists of an unrestricted cash prize of $5,000 and a hand-lettered certificate.

NSS Board Member, Jacquelyn Giuffré, says “Diane’s work takes a journey into the art of animals -somewhere we haven’t been before. More than merely illustration, her work shows a unique respect and understanding of her subjects. In her world, the sculptures are mysterious and powerful. Through her art the animals are eager to tell us a story.”

Diane studied in Philadelphia, PA, at the Hussian School of Art and at the Fleisher Art Memorial. After attending a few classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), she pursued a successful career in design and advertising, ultimately returning to PAFA, where she earned the Ward Prize in Sculpture and the Cresson Memorial Travel Scholarship.

Diane’s life has been devoted to nature and animals. To get closer to that experience, she purged her belongings and went on the road from 2008-2013, ending up in northern California as caretaker of 40 pristine acres and the animals that lived there. That three-year experience deepened her commitment to her subject and fueled her drive for her body of work that stems from living close to and in rhythm with the land.

Now back in the Philadelphia area, Diane has shown at Gross McCleaf Gallery, Stanek Gallery, Rosenfeld Gallery, Wayne Art Center, and Cerulean Arts. She has also shown at the Loveland Museum (Loveland, CO), J. Funk Fine Art (Toledo, OH), the Arnot Art Museum (Elmira, NY), and more. Her piece, Apparition, received the Fred and Cheryl Newby Patrons Award at the NSS 91st Annual Awards Exhibition. She is represented by Werring Contemporary in Chester County, PA. Diane, when not working on her own porcelain, paper and mixed media works, teaches independently and assists Zenos Frudakis, FNSS with large scale monumental projects.

Diane Collins will receive the grant on June 6, 2025 at the NSS Honors and Awards Luncheon in New York City. The Grant is named for Marilyn Newmark (1926-2013), a competitive equestrian and highly accomplished sculptor whose preferred subject was horses. Newmark served on the NSS Board for several years and won more than twelve gold medals and 100 awards at national and international exhibitions.