![]() ![]() ![]() While initially cautious with regard to the time the project might require of one of his chief curators, John Walker, director of the National Gallery, quickly became one of the most vocal supporters of the NASA art initiative. He jumped at the chance to advise NASA on its art program. On a professional level, Cooke had directed American participation in international art competitions and produced articles and illustrations for the National Geographic Magazine. Army Air Forces, he was both fascinated by science and felt a personal connection to flight. The son of a physics professor and a veteran of the U.S. He also introduced Thompson to Hereward Lester Cooke, curator of paintings at the National Gallery of Art.Īn imposing bear of a man standing over six feet tall, Lester Cooke was a graduate of Yale and Oxford, with a Princeton PhD. Air Force, which had amassed some 800 paintings since establishing an art program in 1954. Finley, the chairman and former director of the National Gallery of Art, applauded the idea, and suggested that the agency should study the experience of the U.S. On JThompson met with the Fine Arts Commission, requesting advice as to how "…NASA should develop a basis for use of paintings and sculptures to depict significant historical events and other activities in our program."(3)ĭavid E. ![]() Shelby Thompson, the director of the agency's Office of Educational Programs and Services, assigned James Dean, a young artist working as a special assistant in his office, to the project. Webb's memo of Mawas the birth certificate of the NASA art program. "The important thing," he concluded, "is to develop a policy on how we intend to treat this matter now and in the next several years and then to get down to the specifics of how we intend to implement this policy…." The first step, he suggested, was to consult with experts in the field, including the director of the National Gallery of Art, and the members of the Fine Arts Commission, the arbiters of architectural and artistic taste who passed judgment on the appearance of official buildings and monuments in the nation's capital. He imagined "a nighttime scene showing the great amount of activity involved in the preparation of and countdown for launching," as well as paintings that portrayed activities in space. In addition to portraits, Webb wanted to encourage artists to capture the excitement and deeper meaning of space flight. Instead, Webb voiced his preference for a group portrait that would emphasize "…the team effort and the togetherness that has characterized the first group of astronauts to be trained by this nation." More important, the episode convinced the administrator that "…we should consider in a deliberate way just what NASA should do in the field of fine arts to commemorate the …historic events" of the American space program.(2) ![]() Webb, the administrator of NASA, assumed that the artist was interested in painting a similar portrait of all seven of the Mercury astronauts. In early March 1962, artist Bruce Stevenson brought his large portrait of Alan Shepard, the first American to fly in space, to NASA headquarters.(1) James E. Plans were falling into place for a follow-on series of two-man Gemini missions that would set the stage for the Apollo voyages to the moon. Within a year, three more Mercury astronauts would fly into orbit. Kennedy's challenge of sending human beings to the moon and returning them safely to earth by the end of the decade. NASA was an agency with a mission - to meet President John F. was positioned to match and exceed Soviet achievements in space. For the first time since the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U.S. Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. The spring of 1962 was a busy time for the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. ![]()
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