A Special Exhibit: The Box Dioramas of Sheperd Paine at the MMSI Chicago Show, October 2023

Through four books and the development of the Open System of Judging in use at this and many other shows, lifelong MMSI member Shep Paine did more to popularize and elevate military miniatures than any other artist. Shep considered the twenty-five box dioramas he created between 1972 and 1997 to be the pinnacle of his work, which was collected by, among others, financier Malcolm Forbes and painter Andrew Wyeth. The largest collection belonged to MMSI member and industrialist/inventor Ralph Koebbeman, who died several years before Shep passed in August, 2015. Ralph’s collection was sold at auction in the summer of 2023, and Shep’s artistic executors Joe Berton and Jim DeRogatis set out to reclaim as many of his boxes as possible. Jim then restored all of the boxes, except as noted, with modern electronics and minor repairs; he had previously brought others back to life under Shep’s supervision. This display represented the largest ever presented in one place of Shep’s boxes. His life and work are chronicled in Jim’s book Sheperd Paine: The Life and Work of a Master Modeler and Military Historian, and his legacy continues via the Shep Paine Education Fund, administered by the MMSI.

 All photos by Bob Sarnowski (except as noted), taken onsite at the show.

“In the Turret of the Monitor” (1976), now in the collection of Joe Berton. 

“The Swamp Ogre” (1976), now in the collection of Darryl Audette.

“Stopping the Slave Trade” (1977), now in the collection of Darryl Audette.

“The Meeting of the Admiralty Board” (1979), now in the collection of Bill Neustadt.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1979), now in the collection of Jim DeRogatis.

“The Night Watch” (1979), now in the collection of Joe Berton.

“The Death of Jim Bowie” (1979), now in the collection of Jim DeRogatis.

“A King of Shreds and Patches (Hamlet Sees the Ghost of His Father)” (1982), now in the collection of Barry Biediger, awaiting his restoration. 

“Mr. Christian!” (1982), now in the collection of Jerry Hutter, who restored the box and took these photos.

“A Stillness at Appomattox” (1986), now in the collection of Bill Neustadt.

“Matthew Brady’s Photographic Gallery” (1986), now in the collection of Joe Berton.

“In the Casemate of the Merrimac” (1994), now in the collection of Darryl Audette.

Above, from top: Barry Biediger and Jim DeRogatis, editors of this site, by Joe Berton, Shep’s artistic executor, in front of the special Shep display at the 2023 MMSI Chicago Show; Jim and Joe lead a “docent’s tour” of the Shep boxes at the height of the show on Saturday (photos by Dave Berton), and modeler John Rosengrant, winner of the 2023 Best of Show, with Jim DeRogatis, latest recipient of the Chicago Medal, along with Rusty Nail, in front of some of the boxes by the master both considered a friend and mentor (photo by Joe Berton).