ROCK TAVERN—As the 88th Academy Awards is televised around the world, Polich Tallix employees will watch the event with special interest. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose Polich Tallix to re-envision the Oscar statuette given to awardees in a return to its first design.
According to an announcement by the academy on Feb.16, the statuettes will now be hand-cast in bronze and finished in 24-karat gold. The bronze base will be given a black finish.
The new Oscar retains the basic physical characteristics of its immediate predecessor, which had been made by Chicago-based R.S. Owens & Co. since 1982, according to the academy’s website. The Oscar statues were cast in britannia metal and gold plated. The statuette’s base was made of black, nickel-plated spun brass.
Modern Yet Traditional
Rep. Patrick Maloney visited the foundry on Feb. 18 to meet with its 86-year-old founder and CEO Dick Polich. Maloney asked Polich about how his foundry got the job to give the statue a burnished upgrade in bronze. Polich said there are foundries all over the world, but the academy simply invited Polich Tallix to do this job.
Polich Tallix received a cast bronze Oscar from 1929 made by sculptor George Stanley and restored subtle features of the original sculpture, which was based on sketches by MGM Art Director Cedric Gibbons.
The re-envisoned statuette is actually a blending of the original with one produced for the last 30 years. Polich said the design has been changing over time in a way that made the statue look more modern. Working closely with the academy, the foundry made a composite that blends the old with the new but is cast in bronze instead of the pewter material more recently used.
The overall size of the bronze statuette remains at 13.5 inches tall and 8.5 pounds.
Stephanie Minor, who works in sales and public relations for Polich, said the changes are subtle. “[The statuettes] are mirror polished, so there is a different material to give them luster. There is a different engraving style. There is a different font. All these different changes have been incorporated into the new design.” All engravings are done in bronze, not brass as in the last 30 years.
