Artist Biographies

exhibition logo

Select by last name: A-D | E-J | K-O | P-R | S-Z


Robert Anderson

Veterans World War I (1985)
Veterans Korea (1985)

Robert A. Anderson has been a painter of commissioned portraits for 30 years; he has also created art for the advertising, publishing, and music industries. A spokesman and illustrator for the John J. Breck Company for 15 years, he created pastel portraits for shampoo print ads and commercials for American and Canadian television. He recently completed portraits of former Massachusetts governors Edward J. King and William F. Weld. His outstanding images are included in many public, private, and institutional collections, as well as on 12 U.S. postage stamps.


James Barkley

National Parks Centennial: Mount McKinley, Alaska (1972)

An avid stamp collector and award-winning illustrator, James Barkley has created images for America’s most prestigious corporations and publications, including General Foods, IBM, NBC, PepsiCo, Sony, Columbia Pictures, Esquire, National Geographic, and McCall’s. He has taught aspiring illustrators as a professor of art at Bridgeport University and the Parsons School of Design, and he served as a trustee of the Society of Illustrators in New York. Passionate about the environment, he has created nature paintings for the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Postal Service.


John Berkey

California Gold Rush (1999)
Candidate for Elvis stamp

As a staff artist at the Brown & Bigelow advertising firm for eight years, John Berkey produced more than 500 calendar images, featuring everything from pastoral scenes to historic tableaus, before turning to freelance illustration in 1963. Renowned for his robust and impressionistic style, he has created paintings for book covers, movie posters, advertisements, and such periodicals as National Geographic, Life, Time, and TV Guide. Among those attracted to his masterful science-fiction illustrations was the young George Lucas, who commissioned him to work on the pre-production designs for Star Wars. His images appear on 16 U.S. stamps.


Keith Birdsong

Celebrate The Century: The 1960s “I Have a Dream” (1999)

A former journalist and self-taught artist, Keith Birdsong has been painting for 15 years. His powerful images have appeared in films, on book covers, and on collectors’ plates for the Hamilton Collection and the Bradford Exchange. One of the major artistic contributors to Star Wars, he has also created designs for 13 U.S. stamps, including an issuance honoring American Indian dance and six Celebrate The Century stamps that commemorated the 1960s.


Thomas Blackshear II

Black Heritage: Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable (1987)
Joe Louis (1993)
Classic Movie Monsters: Bela Lugosi as Dracula (1997)
Classic Movie Monsters: Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s Monster (1997)

Award-winning artist Thomas Blackshear began his career as an artist for Hallmark Cards. His beautifully crafted images, which have appeared in books, magazines, calendars, posters, and advertisements, were commissioned by such clients as Coca-Cola, Coors, Jim Henson Studios, George Lucas, Universal Studios, and Milton Bradley. In addition to his many stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service, he painted 28 portraits of celebrated African Americans that appear in "I Have a Dream," a Black Heritage series commemorative book.


William Bond

World War II: 1945, Victory at Last, Marines Raise Flag on Iwo Jima (1995)

After serving in the British Royal Navy during World War II, William H. Bond studied art at Twickenham Art College and worked with some of England’s leading illustrators during the post-war reconstruction of London. Many of his paintings were created for the National Geographic Society during his 36 years as a staff artist there and appear in the Society’s magazines, books, and publications. His art is featured on 58 United States postage stamps, including an extraordinary series of 50 World War II commemorative issues.


Steve Buchanan

Insects and Spiders: Black Widow (1999)

Trained as a classical musician at Oberlin College, Steve Buchanan earned his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. After eleven years as a university professor and concert pianist, he studied painting with Dennis Nolan at the Hartford Art School, and in 1988 he began a successful second career as a freelance illustrator. Buchanan specializes in natural science illustration and is best known for his botanical and entomological subjects. His clients have included The New York Times, Country Living Gardener, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Scientific American, Houghton Mifflin, Garden Design, and Fine Gardening Magazine.


Chris Calle

Moon Landing (1989)

A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Art, where he studied illustration and design, Chris Calle has earned an international reputation as a stamp designer. He has created more than 200 stamps for the United Nations program and for countries as diverse as Sweden and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. His outstanding work also appears in many publications and is represented in corporate, private, and museum collections throughout the world. During his first year as a professional illustrator, he was commissioned to create the first of his 31 designs for U.S. postage stamps.


Paul Calle

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan (1980)
American Folk Art: Carousel Animals (1988)

Paul Calle is a celebrated visual historian whose award-winning illustrations have chronicled America’s heritage. A master painter and draftsman, he has documented the exploration of space in NASA’s fine art program, and he was commissioned by the United States Postal Service to create a stamp honoring the moon landing in 1969. Two paintings commemorating the 25th anniversary of this event are also among his 37 memorable stamp designs. His work has been exhibited nationally and abroad at the National Gallery of Art, the National Air and Space Museum, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and in museums in Russia and Poland. Two books have been written about him and his work: The Pencil and Paul Calle: An Artist’s Journey.


Robert Cunningham

Olympic Summer Games: Runners (1979)
Olympic Winter Games: Speed Skater (1980)

Robert M. Cunningham’s unique sense of light, color, and design has made an indelible mark on the field of illustration during the past 40 years. Raised in America’s heartland, he served as an air cadet in the Navy before attending the Kansas City Art Institute and the Art Students League in New York in pursuit of his artistic dream. His award-winning images have been sought by America’s leading magazines, as well as companies such as General Electric, Mobil, Chevrolet, and American Express. The designer of ten U.S. postage stamps celebrating the 1980 Olympic Games, he was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1998.


Jerry Dadds

Martin Van Buren (1986)

An outstanding printmaker in the woodcut medium, Jerry Dadds is a founder of the Eucalyptus Tree Studio in Baltimore, Maryland. He has created illustrations and designs for corporations, government agencies, institutions, advertising agencies, book covers, magazines, and calendars, and his presidential portraits appeared on 36 U.S. postage stamps. A collector of presidential sculpture, portraits, and memorabilia, he is currently working on a bust of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Social Security Administration.


John Dawson

Pacific Coast Rain Forest (2000)

John D. Dawson is a gifted wildlife artist whose meticulous attention to detail and accuracy is inspired by countless hours of research, field observations, specimen studies, and consultations with scientists. The dramatic terrain of the West fueled many of his creative ideas, but in 1989 he traded the Rocky Mountains for the tropical rain forests of Hawaii, where he lives and works today. His clients include National Geographic, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Postal Service, for which he has created more than 30 stamp designs. An exhibition of his original works has toured nationally.


Michael Deas

Legends of Hollywood: Marilyn Monroe (1995)
Legends of Hollywood: James Dean (1996)
Literary Arts: Thomas Wolfe (2000)
Duke Kahanamoku (2002)
Legends of Hollywood: Cary Grant (2002)
Legends of Hollywood: Audrey Hepburn (2003)

Michael J. Deas, an award-winning artist, is well-known for his stamp images. He has been awarded five medals by the Society of Illustrators, including two gold medals for stamp design. He was one of seven contemporary illustrators featured in an exhibit entitled “Visual Solutions: Seven Illustrators and the Creative Process” at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His clients have included Columbia Pictures, Reader’s Digest, Random House, Chiat/Day, and a number of advertising agencies.


Walter DuBois Richards

American Architecture: Smithsonian Institution (1980)
American Architecture: Fallingwater (1982)

Walter DuBois Richards graduated from the Cleveland School of Art and moved to New York in 1936, where he created illustrations for Madison Avenue advertising accounts and national publications. A gifted draftsman, watercolorist, and lithographer, he has traveled the world on assignment for Life magazine, the U.S. Air Force, and many American corporations. His paintings have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and are included in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New Britain Museum, and the Pentagon. His 37 U.S. stamps include a series honoring 16 national architectural treasures.


Michael Dudash

Sports Horses (1993)

Renowned for his dramatic realist paintings, C. Michael Dudash is an award-winning artist whose images appear to be bathed in light. He began his career in publishing but has worked as a freelance illustrator since 1978, creating images for books, magazines, advertising agencies, film companies, and corporations. Reader’s Digest, Sports Illustrated, DC Comics, Eddie Bauer, and Paramount Pictures are among his impressive client roster. He has also worked collaboratively with Christian publishers toward the creation of fine art prints and is the illustrator of seven U.S. postage stamps.


Mark English

1620: The Landing of the Pilgrims (1970)
George Washington (1982)

Born in Hubbard, Texas, Mark English picked cotton, chased rodeos, painted billboards, and served in the Army before studying at the Art Center College in Los Angeles. He began his career as an art director in advertising but quickly became known as one of America’s leading magazine illustrators. A Hall of Fame illustrator, he is admired for his innovative artistic experiments and has created images for many national publications, including The Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, McCall’s, and Time. He has counseled aspiring and professional illustrators as an artist-in-residence at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City and at The Illustration Academy, a school that he founded. His striking designs have appeared on 12 U.S. postage stamps.


John Falter

Rural America: Chautauqua Tent and Buggies (1974)
Rural America: Wheat Fields and Train (1974)

Reared in Falls City, Nebraska, John Falter studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and at the Art Students League in New York City. He created illustrations for prominent agencies and publications but was best known for his Saturday Evening Post covers depicting small towns and country settings. As a Navy lieutenant during World War II, he served on special art assignment and created more than 300 recruitment posters. He illustrated more than 40 books for Reader’s Digest after the war and completed portrait commissions for such dignitaries as Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, Louis Armstrong, Olivia de Havilland, and James Cagney. In 1976 he was inducted into the Illustrators Hall of Fame.


Teresa Fasolino

Aquarium Fish (1999)

Raised and educated in Westchester County, New York, Teresa Fasolino studied with Robert Weaver, Marshall Arisman, and other contemporary artists and illustrators at the School of Visual Arts. During the last 15 years, she has worked for many major magazines, publishers, and advertising agencies while evolving and developing her style of illustrative painting. Some of Fasolino’s clients include the U.S. Postal Service, The New York Times Magazine, Berkley Publishing, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Her work has been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators and at various New York galleries.


Bart Forbes

Abigail Adams (1985)
American Sports: Lou Gehrig (1989)

Internationally acclaimed artist Bart Forbes captured the essence of sports for nearly 30 years. He attended the Art Center College in Los Angeles before embarking on a career as a freelance illustrator, which took him to all corners of the earth. His images have appeared in Sports Illustrated and Time as well as on posters for the Boston Marathon, the America’s Cup, the Indianapolis 500, and the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. The designer of 24 U.S. stamps, he was selected by the Korean Olympic Committee as the official artist for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.


Bernard Fuchs

Folk Musicians: Woody Guthrie (1998)

Known for his fluid, evocative images, Bernard Fuchs began his career in Detroit, where his automotive illustrations for advertising were an immediate success. His award-winning artwork has appeared in many national publications, including Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Look, and Lithopinion, a magazine that has encouraged him to travel and paint such varied events as the races at Longchamp in Paris, France, and the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. A celebrated innovator in the field of illustration, he was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1975. His artwork appears on five U.S. stamps.


Nicholas Gaetano

Literary Arts: Ayn Rand (1999)

Nicholas Gaetano was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and studied advertising and illustration at the Art Center College of Design in California. After school he spent two years working in advertising agencies in Los Angeles and New York before becoming a freelance illustrator and designer. Gaetano has worked on award-winning television commercials and illustrations for books, magazines, advertising, posters, records, and CDs. His work is included in many corporate collections, and several of his poster designs are part of the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. He lives with his wife, Thedia, and his two children, Ohara and Rhys, in a small town in western North Carolina.


Robert Giusti

Wild Animals: Flamingo (1992)
Wild Animals: King Penguins (1992)

Born in Switzerland and raised in new York City, Robert Giusti studied painting, sculpture, and graphics at the Tyler School of Fine Arts in Pennsylvania and at the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan. He worked in advertising and publishing before setting out as a freelance illustrator and designer of book jackets, album covers, advertisements, packaging, logos, letterheads, and animated television commercials. The Cincinnati Zoo, the World Wildlife Fund, Columbia Records, Universal Pictures, National Geographic, and The New York Times are among his prestigious clients. His 13 U.S. postage stamps feature an array of colorful wildlife.


James Gurney

The World of Dinosaurs (1997)

Introduced to dinosaurs during a childhood museum visit, James Gurney studied anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and art at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. His lavishly painted images bring realism to his work in fantasy and reveal his appreciation of both art and science. Though he is best known for his highly acclaimed Dinotopia books, he has illustrated more than 70 science fiction and fantasy book covers, created historical and archaeological illustrations for National Geographic, and worked as a background painter for an animated film. Gurney was the artist for The World of Dinosaurs, a 1997 issuance that featured 15 U.S. postage stamps.


Mark Hess

Legends of the West: Buffalo Bill (1994)
Legends of the West: Sacagawea (1994)
Legends of the West: Bill Pickett (1994)
Civil War: Abraham Lincoln (1995)
Civil War: Frederick Douglass (1995)
Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant (1995)
Civil War: Robert E. Lee (1995)

Raised in Michigan, Mark Hess became a professional bull rider at the age of ten, but science and art captivated him. After studying painting at the University of Colorado, he honed his skills as an apprentice to his father, acclaimed designer Richard Hess. His strong visual concepts and representational blend of surrealism, irony, and humor quickly attracted industry attention. The recipient of many professional awards and honors, he has created images for such diverse clients as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Walt Disney Studios, IBM, American Express, and the U.S. Postal Service, for which he has illustrated 46 stamps.


Al Hirschfeld

Stars of the Silent Screen: ZaSu Pitts (1994)

Al Hirschfeld’s signature style includes sweeping lines and intricate curves that capture the essence of likeness and personality. The most celebrated caricaturist of our time, he has documented the drama and humor of American film and theater for more than 75 years. Born in St. Louis in 1903, he studied at the Art Students League in New York and the Academie Julian in Paris before working for two major movie studios. His long relationship with The New York Times began in 1925, and his drawings also appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Time, Rolling Stone, and TV Guide. The first artist to have his name published on a stamp booklet, he is also the first to include hidden writing in his designs. His 15 U.S. stamps honor noted comedians and silent film stars.


Robert Indiana

Love (1973)

Born Robert E. Clark, renowned American Pop artist Robert Indiana adopted the name of his native state early in his career. A painter of the American environment, he creates images from words and numbers that are inspired by the world of signs—in particular, signs on the highway that refer allegorically to life’s journey. His paintings, sculpture, and graphics are exhibited internationally and are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian Institution. In 1978, he left New York City for the solitude of Vinalhaven, Maine, where he lives and works today. His 1973 stamp was the first Love stamp ever issued by the U.S. Postal Service.


Corita Kent

Love (1985)

A Roman Catholic nun from 1936 to 1968, Corita Kent gained recognition as an activist and an artist whose bright colors and slogans from the mass media convey strong social and religious messages. In her art and in her capacity as a beloved art department chair of Immaculate Heart College, she was in step with the widespread questioning of authority that epitomized American during the 1960s. Her most famous and controversial outdoor work, created during the Vietnam War, is her monumental rainbow painting on a huge gas storage tank on the Boston harbor front. Today the Corita Art Center of the Immaculate Heart Community in California keeps the artist’s love of life and humanity alive. Her artwork appeared on the fourth Love stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.


Howard Koslow

Lighthouses: Sandy Hook, New Jersey (1990)
Lighthouses: West Quoddy Head, Maine (1990)
Jazz and Blues Singers: Billie Holiday (1994)

Howard Koslow has been commissioned to create paintings that can be seen at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the National Air and Space Museum, and the NASA Art Gallery at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The National Park Service has also commissioned him to create paintings for its historical art collections. Koslow’s previous projects for the U.S. Postal Service include eight 1940s Celebrate The Century stamps, five stamps portraying Great Lakes lighthouses, and four stamps featuring jazz and blues singers, as well as several stamped cards. He lives in Toms River, New Jersey.


David LaFleur

Folk Heroes: John Henry (1996)

A painter, illustrator, and designer, David LaFleur creates strong, whimsical images from his Kansas studio for a variety of clients. His designs for posters, billboards, packaging, menus, annual reports, calendars, apparel, CD covers, shopping bags, murals, and greeting cards have been commissioned by an impressive client list that includes Milton Bradley, Federal Express, Starbucks, Heinz, and General Motors. Among the artist’s seven U.S. postage stamps was the popular self-adhesive issue Flag Over Porch. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States.


James Lamb

Youth Classics: Little House on the Prairie (1993)

James Lamb’s love of plein-air painting is evident in the light-filled images that he creates for exhibition and for a broad range of clients. Lamb has been a professional illustrator for 15 years, and his diverse national accounts have included the Smithsonian Institution, the White House, NASA, the National Football League, and the U.S. Postal Service, for which he has designed six stamps. His images have also been commissioned by major motion picture studios and advertising agencies and have been published as limited-edition prints and collectible plates. Exhibited widely, his paintings are included in many public and private collections.


Marvin Mattelson

Love: Swans (1997)

A renowned portrait painter and illustrator, Marvin Mattelson studied at the Philadelphia College of Art and refined his skills in classical painting techniques before setting out on a career as a freelance artist. During his 30-year career, his award-winning images for magazines, movie posters, and packaging have been commissioned by such prominent clients as Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, DreamWorks, CBS, and Angel Records. His portraits are included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution and in many corporate and private collections. A respected teacher at the School of Visual Arts in New York, he created artwork for two Love stamps for the U.S. Postal Service.


Robert McCall

Apollo and Soyuz: After Docking and Earth (1975)

Highly acclaimed as a space artist, Robert T. McCall is celebrated for his visionary masterpieces. His World War II service in the Army Air Corps inspired a lifelong interest in aerospace subjects. Among the first artists to be invited into NASA’s fine arts program, he has documented such historical events as the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. His multi-story murals in the National Air and Space Museum and his paintings for such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Trek: The Motion Picture are regarded as icons of the genre. Two of the 21 U.S. postage stamps he designed were cancelled on the moon before a worldwide audience.


Wilson McLean

Broadway Musicals: Oklahoma! (1993)

Born in Scotland, Wilson McLean began his career at the age of 15 in a London silkscreen shop. After attending art school at night, he worked as a freelance artist in advertising and publishing and became familiar with the work of American illustrators. Inspired to move to New York in 1966, he has since received virtually every professional award and honor in the field of illustration, including a prestigious Clio for excellence in advertising. His artwork appears on four U.S. stamps and is included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution and the London Transport Museum. He has also taught aspiring artists at the School of Visual Arts and at Syracuse University.


Ron Miller

Space Exploration: Jupiter, Pioneer 11 (1991)

A renowned illustrator and author who specializes in astronomical, astronautical, and science fiction subjects, Ron Miller is an authority on early space flight and the writing of Jules Verne. He studied at the Columbus College of Art and served as an art director at the National Air and Space Museum’s Albert Einstein Planetarium before becoming a freelance illustrator in 1977. Since then, his images have been featured in many magazines and books, including The Dream Machines, his illustrated history of manned spacecraft. He has also been a production illustrator for such films as Dune and Total Recall and is a contributing editor to Air and Space and Smithsonian magazines. His art for ten U.S. postage stamps commemorates advances in exploring the solar system.


Dean Mitchell

Jazz Musicians: Louis Armstrong (1995)

Gifted realist painter Dean Mitchell began his artistic experiments when his grandmother gave him a paint-by-number set and encouraged him to explore his talent. After graduating from the Columbus College of Art, he worked as an illustrator for Hallmark and painted to satisfy the need for a more personal form of expression. He exhibited his works widely, and he embarked on a career as a full-time painter. His masterful portraits, landscapes, and still-life paintings have received many professional honors and are included in the permanent collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Xerox Corporation, and the Greenwich Workshop. He designed six U.S. postage stamps honoring Jazz Musicians.


Daniel Moore

Legendary Football Coaches: Vince Lombardi (1997)

An artist and an athlete, Daniel A. Moore studied commercial art and painting at the University of Alabama. Nationally acclaimed for his skillful realist paintings that capture great moments in sports history, he is the founder of New Life Art, a publishing company that issues fine limited-edition prints. He has also created images for such professional sports organizations as the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the Professional Golfing Association of America. Moore illustrated four U.S. stamps honoring the achievements of legendary football coaches.


Walter Naideinsel

Progress in Electronics: Transistors and Printed Circuit Board (1973)

Respected illustrators and graphic designers with compatible artistic sensibilities, Walter and Naiad Einsel worked collaboratively on many projects, including book and magazine illustrations, posters, advertisements, television commercials, package designs, collage boxes, and kinetic sculptures. They met and married when each was an art director at NBC and CBS, respectively, and they were the first husband-and-wife team to create stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service. Among their design credits is an AT&T exhibition at Walt Disney World EPCOT Center in Florida that features 55 intricately mechanized figures.


Bill Nelson

Big Band Leaders: Glenn Miller (1996)

Bill Nelson is an internationally known illustrator and sculptor whose award-winning images have appeared on the covers and pages of the New York Times Book Review, Newsweek, Time, TV Guide, and The Atlantic Monthly. He has also been commissioned to create artwork for such leading companies and agencies as Estée Lauder, Columbia Pictures, Sony, Reebok, The Kennedy Center, Bolla Wine, and the U.S. Postal Service, for which he has designed 11 stamps. The whimsical elves, gnomes, and fairies that appear in his fantasy sculptures have been exhibited in galleries throughout the world and are featured in the private collections of many celebrities.


Michael Osborne

Love (2002)

Michael Osborne serves as president and creative director of the San Francisco-based graphic design firm that bears his name. Established in 1981, the firm’s work in package design, corporate identity, and print collateral has been awarded Clios, honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and featured in Graphis, Communication Arts, and Print magazine. Designs by the firm, known as MOD (for Michael Osborne Designs, Inc.), are in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. Osborne also owns and operates One Heart Press, a letterpress print shop known for producing fine press books, invitations, and other unique printed materials. In 1992, he turned his attention to printmaking and etching and enjoyed his premiere solo fine art exhibit in 1994. A 1978 honors graduate of the Art Center College of Design, Osborne has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and The Academy of Art College.


C.F. Payne

Popular Singers: Ethel Merman (1994)

Chris Payne’s insightful portraits of the famous and the infamous are often found on the covers and pages of America’s leading publications. Praised for his artistic flexibility and meticulous craftsmanship, he lives and works in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he creates distinctive editorial images for Esquire, Time, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, and an impressive roster of advertising clients. The recipient of many professional awards and honors, he chairs the Society of Illustrators’ museum committee and teaches at the Columbus College of Art. His artwork has appeared on five U.S. stamps.


Jerry Pinkney

Black Heritage: Sojourner Truth (1986)

Jerry Pinkney began his career in the art department of a Boston greeting card company, but he soon became acquainted with the publishing industry, which sought and nurtured his work. Celebrated for his luminous narrative paintings that reflect his attention to historical accuracy, he has received four Caldecott Honor Medals and many other professional awards. The illustrator of more than 80 children’s books, he has created images for such diverse clients as Time, National Geographic, NASA, the Franklin Mint, and General Mills. His work for the U.S. Postal Service includes a series of Black Heritage stamps celebrating African-American achievement. A member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee from 1982 to 1992, he has also served on the U.S. Postal Service Quality Assurance Committee.


Norman Rockwell

Boy Scouts (1960)
City Mail Delivery (1963)

One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Norman Rockwell aspired to a career in illustration at an early age. He attended the Art Students League in New York and was 19 when he accepted the position of art editor at Boys Life magazine. When he was 22, his artwork was published on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, which he called “the greatest show window in America for an illustrator.” Best known for his 322 Post covers created between 1916 and 1963, his images have graced the covers and pages of more than 30 periodicals and were commissioned by many prominent corporations during a career that spanned seven decades. In 1977 he received the Presidential Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest civilian commendation, for his “vivid and affectionate portraits of our country.” Rockwell was directly commissioned to create artwork for two stamps, and many of his existing works have also been reproduced on U.S. postage.


Robert Rodriguez

Celebrate The Century: The 1980s, Vietnam Veterans Memorial (2000)

New Orleans native Robert Rodriguez has lived and worked in the Los Angeles area since graduating from Chouinard Art Institute in 1969. As a freelance illustrator originally specializing in advertising illustration and cover art for record albums, Rodriguez has also created artwork for book and magazine illustration, movie posters, and software packaging. His movie work includes posters for The Jewel of the Nile, The Two Jakes, and City Slickers II, as well as several video covers. He has also created posters for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Super Bowl XXVI, the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, and three Royal Caribbean Classic/PGA Tours. Rodriguez has exhibited his work in numerous group shows across the country, and he has also been a guest lecturer for various professional organizations and colleges. He has illustrated 14 U.S. postage stamps, including the 1998 Cinco de Mayo stamp that was issued jointly by the United States and Mexico.


Greg Rudd

Literary Arts: Ernest Hemingway (1999)

As a child, Greg Rudd was captivated by the gallery of images that arrived at his family home each day on the corners of letters and packages. The art that appeared on postage inspired his interest in painting and fueled his dream to one day illustrate a stamp. A gifted portraitist and illustrator, he conveys the essence of his subjects by depicting them as simply and as gracefully as possible with passion, color, and composition. He is known for painting the legends of the sport of golf, which began when he was commissioned to create a likeness of Francis Ouimet for the U.S. Postal Service.


Joseph Saffold

Legends of Baseball: Jackie Robinson (2000)

A native of Savannah, Georgia, Joseph Saffold received a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Georgia in 1970 and began his career as an advertising artist-illustrator in Atlanta. Saffold earned national awards for his work, including a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators and several Awards of Excellence from Communication Arts. Early in his career, he created a poster for the Atlanta Braves baseball team that was used to promote attendance at home games and as cover art for game programs; it was also reproduced on a scarf. Other corporate clients were AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, CBS, IBM, Coca-Cola, Kemper Insurance, Kodak, RJR Nabisco, United Airlines, the National Football League, Warner-Lambert, McDonald’s, Turner Broadcasting, and Warner Bros.


Richard Schlecht

First Voyage of Christopher Columbus: Crossing the Atlantic (1992)

Richard Schlecht grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in journalism. He came to art as an illustrator of military subjects during his service in the Army, and he worked at commercial graphics studios before embarking on a freelance career in 1967. A specialist on the subjects of underwater archaeology, maritime history, and the visual reconstruction of historic and prehistoric archaeological sites, he has worked extensively with National Geographic, the National Park Service, Time-Life Books, and Colonial Williamsburg. He has created artwork for 21 U.S. stamps, and he spends several months each year in Italy painting for exhibition and pleasure.


Ned Seidler

Garden Flowers (1996)

Born in New York and educated at the Art Students League and Pratt Institute, Ned Seidler was a freelance illustrator of books, magazines, and advertising for 21 years before becoming a staff artist for National Geographic in 1967. Since his retirement from the magazine in 1985, he has returned to freelance work and has created 26 U.S. stamp designs. Seidler’s artwork, featuring nature and historical subjects, has been exhibited at such prominent venues as the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania; and Grand Central Galleries in New York City.


Whitney Sherman

Breast Cancer Research semipostal (1998)

Illustrator, designer, and educator Whitney Sherman creates commissioned art for a national and Canadian clientele from her studio in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she now serves as chair of the illustration faculty. Self-taught in illustration and design, her work has been recognized by numerous art organizations and selected by American Illustration and Communication Arts. Her book and jacket illustrations have been commissioned by Henry Holt & Co., St. Martin’s Press, and Scholastic Books, among others. Recent exhibits include “The Art of Transportation” at the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Commission Gallery and “Twenty Years of Cricket Covers” at the Art Institute of Chicago. Her illustration for the Breast Cancer Research semipostal issued in 1998 was her first project for the U.S. Postal Service.


Burton Silverman

Classical Composers and Conductors: Arthur Fiedler (1997)

The art of New York City native Burton Silverman grows out of his responses to the world around him. His illustration career began with a commission to create a series of instructional drawings for Sports Illustrated in 1961. Since then, his masterful images have appeared in children’s books, advertisements, and magazines for such prominent clients as Time, Life, The New Yorker, Exxon, CBS, Heinz, and IBM. As a distinguished easel painter, he has received many professional honors, and his work has been exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the world. The portraits he paints focus on the interior worlds of their subjects and are featured on 12 U.S. stamps.


Alan Singer

Connecticut: Robin and Mountain Laurel (1982)
Massachusetts: Black-Capped Chickadee and Mayflower (1982)
New York: Eastern Bluebird and Rose (1982)
Arizona: Cactus Wren and Saguaro Cactus Blossom (1982)

A gifted artist, designer, and writer, Alan D. Singer is known for his accurate and exquisite botanical and wildlife images. During his 25-year career, his illustrations have been commissioned by leading publishers and magazines, including Random House, Houghton Mifflin, National Geographic, and Horticulture. An associate professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, he has exhibited his originals at such museums as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Design. He worked in tandem with his father, Arthur Singer, to create the flowers that appear on the 50 State Birds and Flowers stamps for the U.S. Postal Service.


Arthur Singer

Connecticut: Robin and Mountain Laurel (1982)
Massachusetts: Black-Capped Chickadee and Mayflower (1982)
New York: Eastern Bluebird and Rose (1982)
Arizona: Cactus Wren and Saguaro Cactus Blossom (1982)

One of America’s finest wildlife painters, Arthur Singer was renowned for his illustrations of birds and animals in their natural habitats. After studying at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York, he worked with the Allies during World War II to conceive camouflage schemes for tanks, which required keen observations of terrain and moving objects when viewed from the air. His bold, fresh style emphasizing color, form, and movement is evident in his many lavishly illustrated books, which are well known to bird watchers. His art also appears on the 50 State Birds and Flowers stamps, which he illustrated for the U.S. Postal Service with his son, Alan D. Singer.


Drew Struzan

Celebrate The Century: The 1990s, The Gulf War (2000)
Literary Arts: Zora Neale Hurston (2003)

Born in 1947, Drew Struzan has been drawing and painting since he was a child. He worked his way through the Art Center College of Design in California, earning a bachelor of arts degree with great distinction and completing two years of graduate studies. Struzan is one of the most influential artists working as an illustrator today, and his paintings have delighted audiences around the world for 25 years. He has painted album covers, advertising, collectibles, and book covers, but he is best known for his famous movie posters. Steven Spielberg says that Struzan is his favorite movie artist; George Lucas has called him the only collectible artist since World War II; and the Boston Globe called him the greatest poster artist of our day. Some of his most memorable paintings include posters for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars, the Indiana Jones series, the Back to the Future series, and the Muppet movies.


Mark Stutzman

Legends of American Music: Elvis Presley (1993)
Candidate for Elvis stamp

A graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Mark Stutzman began his illustration career at a fast-paced television station, where he worked on sets, created on-air graphics, painted weather maps, and created celebrity drawings that attracted industry attention. The co-founder of Eloqui, a studio devoted to the art of illustration, he works with clients from around the globe. His vibrant images portraying icons from popular culture appear on billboards and posters and in magazines, and his work has been commissioned by such clients as McDonald’s, DC Comics, and Entertainment Weekly. The artist’s groundbreaking rendition of the young Elvis Presley for the U.S. Postal Service was one of four stamps that he created to honor legends of American music.


Richard Waldrep

Country and Western Music: Patsy Cline (1993)
Centennial Olympic Games: Women’s Gymnastics (1996)
Centennial Olympic Games: Men’s Hurdles (1996)

Highly acclaimed for his artistic versatility, Richard Waldrep studied art at the University of Georgia and was a 15-year partner at Eucalyptus Tree Studio in Baltimore before setting out as a freelance artist. During his 28-year career, he has created award-winning illustrations for such editorial, publishing, advertising, and corporate clients as Men’s Health, U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, Berkley Press, McDonald’s, Parker Brothers, and others. His paintings honoring subjects as varied as the Olympic Games, American music, and history have appeared on 39 U.S. postage stamps.


Paul Wenzel

Walt Disney (1968)

During his 42-year career with the Walt Disney Company, Paul Wenzel created thousands of fine illustrations for motion picture advertising and retail merchandising. His many film-advertising illustrations included posters artwork the Academy Award winner Mary Poppins, first released in 1964. Recently retired, he continues to accept commercial assignments on a freelance basis and paints more personal images for exhibition and enjoyment. His vibrant portrait of Walt Disney appears on a 1968 U.S. stamp.

Art of the Stamp