Image: Walt Whitman, 1981. Three-color woodcut on laid rice paper, 15 1/8 x 11 in. (38.4175 x 27.94 cm.). Gift of the artist, 1985.39 © artist or artist's estate
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is remembering Daniel Dawson Miller III, the printmaker, sculptor and educator whose relationship with the Philadelphia institution spanned nearly seven decades. Miller, a Professor Emeritus of Printmaking, died on August 3, 2026, at the age of 98, according to PAFA.
Miller first connected with the Academy after receiving an MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania in 1958. He enrolled at PAFA the following year and earned his Certificate in 1959. In 1964, he returned as a faculty member, beginning a teaching career that lasted 62 years. PAFA named him Professor Emeritus in 2025, and he continued teaching and working with students through the age of 97.
Over the course of his tenure, Miller held a series of leadership positions at the Academy, including Dean of Faculty, Acting Dean of the School, Chair of the Painting Department and Chair of the MFA Program. PAFA described his lasting contribution in terms of the generations of students influenced by his teaching, intellectual curiosity, humor, generosity and commitment to the daily practice of art.
Miller also maintained an extensive career as an artist. He presented more than 70 solo exhibitions, and his work is held in public and private collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Princeton University Library and Rutgers University. His honors included the PAFA Dean’s Award and the Percy M. Owens Memorial Award.
His artistic practice centered particularly on printmaking and woodblock sculpture. Miller maintained studios at his homes in Christiana, Pennsylvania, and Corea, Maine. According to PAFA, his discovery of the woodcut during visits to Japan while serving in the United States Army became central to his work. He valued the medium’s directness and expressive potential, using it to convey the humanity he found in faces, figures and landscapes.
PAFA’s remembrance includes several works by Miller: ‘Gertrude’ (1983), an eleven-color woodcut; ‘Darwin #2’ (1985), a six-color woodcut; ‘Walt Whitman’ (1981), a three-color woodcut; and ‘Baselitz, 20th century,’ a woodcut purchased through the Academy’s 102nd Annual Fellowship Exhibition. The works reflect the print-based practice that remained a defining part of his career.
Founded in 1805, PAFA identifies itself as the United States’ first school and museum of fine arts. Its alumni include Mary Cassatt, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, William Glackens, Barkley L. Hendricks, Violet Oakley, Louis Kahn, David Lynch and Henry Ossawa Tanner. In its tribute, the Academy said Miller’s influence would continue through his work, the programs he helped lead and the artists who studied with him.
