Daniel Dawson Miller, III

Daniel Dawson Miller III, 98, of Christiana, passed away on August 3, 2026. He was a celebrated artist, specializing in printmaking. He taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) for 62 years. Named Professor Emeritus in 2025, he continued to instruct students through the age of 97 - until last semester. For 60 years, Dan was a faithful member of Penningtonville Presbyterian Church in Atglen, PA, close to his home in Christiana. Throughout his teaching career, he spent his summers in the small coastal village of Corea, Maine in a house he built himself. On both his Pennsylvania and Maine properties, he maintained two art studios - for printing and woodblock sculpture, respectively. When not teaching in Philadelphia, he never failed to spend a full workday in the studio. He specialized in depicting faces and landscapes he found compelling. Dan was born in Brookville, PA on July 7, 1928, the only child of Dr. Daniel Dawson Miller, Jr., a dentist, and Claudia Chambers Miller. As a young boy, he took private lessons to nurture his obvious proficiency and love for drawing. After graduating from Mercersburg Academy in 1946, he took off on a journey of self-discovery, hitchhiking and riding boxcars around the country, and working odd jobs along the way. In 1952, he was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War, earning a Bronze Star and the rank of Sergeant. Upon his return from the war, he graduated from Lafayette College with a degree in English. He received his MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania in 1958. Later, during his studies as a painting major at PAFA, he gradually drifted toward the woodcut, a process he had discovered during visits to Japan during his time in the service. He liked the medium for its directness of process and expressive strength. He graduated from PAFA in 1959. He returned to PAFA as a faculty member in 1964, where he would teach art history, painting, and printmaking. In addition to his teaching, he held numerous leadership roles at the institution, including Dean of Faculty, Acting Dean of the School, Chairman of the Painting Department, and Chair of the MFA Program. He presented more than 70 solo exhibitions featuring printmaking and sculpture. His work is held in numerous public and private collections, including at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Princeton University Library, and Rutgers University. Dan knew unthinkable sorrow, having suffered the premature loss of his first wife, Lynn Whittum, in 1966, and his 11-year-old daughter, Erin Marjorie Miller, in 1980. He enjoyed long conversations with friends and family in his living room. His observations about life, delivered in his sonorous voice, alternated between deeply philosophical and hilariously funny, and his chortle was contagious. He is survived by three of his children, Andrea Jacobsen of Asheville, NC, Daniel Dawson Miller IV of Hickory, NC, and Jeremiah Miller of Lancaster. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Daniel Dawson Miller V and Nora Ann Miller of Boone, NC, and Caitlyn Jacobsen of Asheville, NC. 

A service in Dan's memory will be held at Penningtonville Presbyterian Church, 406 Main Street, Atlgen, PA, on Monday, August 10. Services will begin at 10:30 am with a screening of a short documentary about Dan's life and art, followed by the funeral service at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, donations to Penningtonville Presbyterian Church are appreciated.