The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was formed in 1927. The organization decided that the best way to honor outstanding movie-making achievements would be through an annual award. The purpose of the award was, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to "encourage excellence in all facets of motion picture production." From this idea came the creation of what we now know as the Oscar statuette.
The first statuette was designed by MGM chief art director Cedric Gibbons. The statuette, eventually nicknamed Oscar, is described as "a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader's sword." Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley turned Gibbons's design into the three dimensional, 13-1/2 inch tall, 8-1/2 pound statuette. The statuette's film reel has five spokes that signify the actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers of the Academy.
The exact origin of how the Oscar statuette got its nickname is not known. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, it is believed that it got its nickname from Margaret Herrick, the Academy's first librarian who eventually became the Academy's executive director. She reportedly remarked that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar. Although it was already being referred to as "Oscar," the statuette's nickname, which is what it is most commonly called, wasn't officially adopted by the Academy until 1939.
One of the changes made to the original statuette, manufactured by the R.S. Owens & Co. in Chicago since 1982, is the varying sizes of its base. Additionally, the original statuettes were gold-plated solid bronze until it was replaced with Britannia metal, a pewter-type alloy, a few years later. The statuette was first plated in copper, nickel silver and, as of 2011, in 24-karat gold. However, during World War II, Oscars were made of painted plaster because of the metal shortage.