Golden Paw

About

Each year the Virginia Living Museum gives its highest honor, the Golden Paw Award, to an individual or company that has provided outstanding service to the museum. This Golden Paw was presented to the museum’s volunteers in September 2010. At that time the museum had 425 active volunteers whose service equaled the work of 18 full-time employees.

The award is a bronze bobcat statue by Eastern Shore sculptor David Turner. The Golden Paw presented to the volunteers is located on the museum’s outdoor trail by the bobcat habitat.

William H. Turner and David H. Turner, father and son, share a talent of capturing the beauty and motion of wildlife in bronze. Their native land, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a peninsula surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, is rich in wildlife and is a continuous source of inspiration for their work.

Established in 1983, Turner Sculpture, near Onley, VA serves as their studios, foundry and gallery, where most of their work is displayed. To date they have created more than 700 different limited edition bronzes and more than 100 large public commissions found throughout the United States, including several at the VLM.