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Presented by
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Associated Person
Katharine Hepburn, 12 May 1907 - 29 Jun 2003
Date
1968
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Britannium alloy (92% tin, 6% antimony, 2% copper), electroplated copper, nickel, silver, and 24k gold on base made of lacquer, brass, and nickel plating
Dimensions
With Base: 33 x 13 x 13cm (13 x 5 1/8 x 5 1/8")
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Estate of Katharine Hepburn
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Object number
AD/NPG.2009.4
Exhibition Label
The Oscar statuette was designed in 1927 by MGM director Cedric Gibbons and sculpted by George Stanley. The figure stands on a film reel with five spokes, signifying the original branches of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. The pedestal was raised in 1945, giving Oscar a height of 13½ inches; it weighs 8½ pounds. Rather than its original gold-plated bronze, it is now composed of the alloy Britannia and coated in twenty-four-karat gold.