Academy Award of Merit (Oscar statuette)
Cedric Gibbons (1890 - 1960)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1938
Materials
Gold-plated Britannium metal
Measurements
300 mm (Height); 135 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Los Angeles
Order this imageCollection
Shaw's Corner, Hertfordshire
NT 1274935
Summary
Gold-plated Britannium metal (tin/copper alloy) Academy Award of Merit (Oscar statuette) designed Austin Cedric Gibbons (1893-1960) sculpted by George M. Stanley (1903-1977). Statuette of a stylised knight holding a sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes, on a circular black metal base with a brass plaque. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians. George Bernard Shaw received his Oscar in 1938 (a year before it was officially called an 'Oscar') for the best screenplay of Pygmalion. He did not collect it in person.
Provenance
Awarded to George Bernard Shaw in 1938 for the best screenplay of Pygmalion. Bequeathed to the National Trust in 1950 by George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950).
Credit line
National Trust Collections (Shaw’s Corner, The George Bernard Shaw Collection)
Marks and inscriptions
Brass plaque to front of base: ACADEMY FIRST AWARD / TO / GEROGE BERNARD SHAW / FOR WRITING SCREENPLAY OF / "PYGMALION"
Makers and roles
Cedric Gibbons (1890 - 1960), designer George M. Stanley (Acadia, Louisiana 1903 - 1977), sculptor C. W. Shumway & Sons, founder