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Fortress Under Fire |
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Farmer's Nightmare |
Keith's entire life has involved aviation, with 65 of those years in the creation of aviation art. Active in the Air Force Art Program over 50 years, Keith has 62 major paintings in the Air Force Art Collection. He is a founder and past president of the American Society of Aviation Artists and a Life Member of the Society of Illustrators in New York. He is best known for his two 75-foot murals in the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, his B-17 mural "Fortresses Under Fire" in the Museum's World War II Gallery and "The Evolution of Jet Aviation" mural in the Jet Aviation Gallery.
Keith has worked in the New York City area as a freelance artist since 1956, serving the advertising, editorial, public relations and historical documentation needs of airframe, engine and avionics manufacturers and their advertising agencies, aviation trade publications, and the military and aviation museums. Keith is an Honorary Daedalian and an honorary member of the USAF Thunderbirds. A resident of New Jersey, Keith was a 1992 inductee into the Aviation Hall of Fame of N.J. He holds an honorary Doctorate from Daniel Webster College and received the 2004 Aviation Week & Space Technology Laureate Award for Lifetime Achievement. He has been elected to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame as a 2006 Laureate. The National Aviation Hall of Fame honors Keith as a 2012 enshrinee for his lifetime contributons to aviation.
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Renowned National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution artist Robert McCall's diverse visual canon varies in scale from his classic "Decade of Achievement" U.S. Postage Stamp Series to the six story mural "The Space Mural, A Cosmic View," which is viewed annually by an estimated 10 million visitors to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. A modern master once described by Isaac Asimov as "the nearest thing to an artist in residence from outer space," Bob used his incisive skills to chronicle our space program from early Mercury flights to the space shuttle, which granted him inside knowledge of such red letter achievements as the first moon landing, controlled space travel and high tech galactic explorations of modern times.
In addition to a litany of famous murals on permanent exhibition at space and research centers nationwide, Bob has supplied conceptual paintings for movies such as "The Black Hole," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Star Trek" and many others. His 19 x 60 foot canvas entitled "The Prologue and the Promise" is a commanding and popular presence in the Horizons Pavilion at Walt Disney's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. In partnership with his wife, Louise, McCall has successfully executed a number of creative projects popular with Arizonans, including stained glass windows at the Valley Presbyterian Church and at Sky Harbor Airport, as well as a mural in the Arizona Industrial Commissions Buildings in Phoenix. Robert is one of five founders of the American Society of Aviation Artists.
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R.G. was a quiet giant in both aeronautical engineering and as an artist. He began his career with Northrop Aircraft, a subsidiary of Douglas, in 1936. He served the aerospace industry for 55 years; 46 years with Douglas Aircraft Company and another nine with an office in McDonnell Douglas as an outside contractor. R.G. worked with Jack Northrop, Ed Heineman and other acclaimed engineers designing the SBD Dauntless, the AD Skyraider, A3D Skywarrior as well as several other U.S. Navy aircraft. R.G.'s art, created in addition to his work as an engineer, emerged early at Northrop. Through study and hard work, his art became ever more important to his company and to his company's customers.
R.G.'s knowledge and love of the flying machine were evident in his art as were his carefully acquired and honed abilities as a fine artist. He was a chronicler of Naval Aviation and was honored by the Navy as an Honorary Naval Aviator. The National Museum of Naval Aviation named its prestigious art award, the "R.G.Smith Award for Excellence in Naval Aviation Art" in his honor. He was a great artist, engineer, a great gentle man, and a founding member of the American Society of Aviation Artists.
Jo Kotula, ASAA |
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Jo Kotula was the Polish-born son of a coal miner immigrant. Arriving in the United States as age six months in 1910, he came of age with aviation and was self-taught as an artist. Proficient in many subjects and styles, his love of aviation led to his very special style of aviation art. From the early 1930s, his talent was much in demand, appearing in national magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, Liberty, Colliers, Newsweek, Air Trails and Popular Science. His cover paintings for Model Airplane News began in 1932 and continued for 38 years, creating more than 400 images. His illustrations for Air Force training manuals during and after World War II are true classics of black and white watercolor rendering of cloudscapes and aircraft.
Jo was proficient in line, watercolor, gouache, casein, acrylic and oils. He agreed with an early French art reviewer who stated that "a picture is first of all a painting...not a picture of something." Jo was a master of handling sunlight on bare aluminum, strong shapes, nice composition and simplicity. He acquired a private pilot's license in 1936 and often delivered paintings by air to clients around the country. He was a founding member of the American Society of Aviation Artists. A resident of New Jersey, Jo was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 1999.
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Ren studied at the Seattle Cornish School and the Art Center School in Los Angeles and the Kann Art Institute. At the beginning of World War II, he became Publications Art Director at Lockheed Aircraft. He then free-lanced, creating some of the finest aviation art and earliest aerospace advertising to be seen in full color. He helped form Group West, Inc., a design/illustration studio in Los Angeles, where he devoted 37 years and served as Chairman of the Board.
Ren was a charter member and twice president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA). His numerous awards include the prestigious Life Achievement Award from SILA and the Art Directors Medal. He worked on major national advertising accounts, including Universal Pictures, TWA, CBS Television, and the U.S. Postal Service, where he designed many U.S. stamps. Ren worked directly with Howard Hughes on many aviation and motion picture projects. Twenty-seven of his paintings are in the USAF Art Collection, and Ren contributed six paintings to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution Art Program. ASAA is proud to count Ren a founding member of the American Society of Aviation Artists.