Bush hat : Official War Artist L Miller

Khaki canvas bush hat with an adjustable cotton chin strap and toggle. The hat has a wide circular brim which is top stitched for extra reinforcement, and an oval shaped crown. Arabic characters are woven in brown on the front of the hat and translate to read 'LEWIS MILLER ARTIST AUSTRALIA'. 'MILLER' is handwritten above this in faded black ink. The inside rim of the hat has an additional drawstring threaded through a narrow sleeve to adjust the fit of the hat. Around this, in black ink is written 'OWA' and 'AWM LEWIS MILLER'. The crown of the hat is padded and the interior side contains a small compartment with Velcro fastening.

Worn by Official War Artist Lewis Miller who accompanied Australian Defence Forces to Iraq in 2003. The Melbourne based artist and winner of the 1998 Archibald Prize, was commissioned as a war artist by the Australian War Memorial. He arrived in Qatar on 14 April, 2003 and spent the following three weeks devoting time to each of the three services and recording their wartime experiences. He spent a night on ships, HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Anzac, creating a number of portraits. Miller was also allowed access to the activities of the SAS in Al Asad, Al Quisayr and the Al Ifzi Yyah Peninsular. He returned to Australia with approximately eighty paintings and sketches.