R.A.D. Miller

Robert Alexander Darrah Miller painted landscapes, portraits, and still lifes in the traditional styles of American regionalism and realism. Born in Philadelphia, Miller studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Daniel Garber from 1923 to 1927. While there, he became close friends with fellow Academy student, Robert Hogue. Miller moved to Bucks County in 1928 and married Celia Belden Marshall, the daughter of the former owner of Phillips' Mill. Although Miller exhibited at Phillips' Mill, he identified with local modernists and became an original member of the New Group, later called the Independents. He exhibited with the New Group in New Hope and Philadelphia throughout the 1930s.

In 1936, Miller completed a mural panel at the Stockton Inn (formerly Colligan's Hotel) in Stockton, New Jersey. Miller resided in New Hope until he took his own life in 1966, at the age of 61.

Education and Training
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1921-1924

Teachers and Influences
Daniel Garber, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
Thomas Hart Benton
Robert Adams, Florida

Connection to Bucks County
R.A.D. Miller moved to New Hope in 1928 where he married Celia Belden Marshall, the daughter of Dr. George Morley Marshall, the prior owner of Phillips' Mill. Despite Miller's association with Phillips' Mill, he felt strongly aligned with the area's modernist artists and became an original member of the Independents and exhibited with them in New Hope. In 1936, he completed a mural panel in the Stockton Inn. He remained a resident in New Hope until his death in 1966.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Miller was a close friend of Robert Hogue, a fellow Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts student and New Hope Modernist, who also moved to New Hope in 1928. Miller was an original member of the Independents. He was affiliated with both the conservative artists of the New Hope area through the Phillips' Mill Community Association and the modernist artists through the Independents.

Major Solo Exhibitions
One-man Show, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1950
An Independent Spirit: The Art and Life of R.A.D. Miller, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2009

Major Group Exhibitions
Exhibited with some of the New Hope Modernists at the Mellon Gallery (later Boyle Gallery), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1932
The Independents, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1933
First Show at The Pickett Galleries, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1934
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, 1934
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1942
Four New Hope Painters with Baker, Keenan, and Crawford, Mellon Galleries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1934
50th Anniversary Retrospective Art Exhibition, Phillips' Mill, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1979
New Hope Modernists 1917-1950, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1991
An Evolving Legacy: Twenty Years of Collecting at the James A. Michener Art Museum, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2009-2010

Major Collections
Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Traveling School Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Reading Museum of Art, Reading, Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania