Lou Nolan (artist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lou Nolan
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Born |
Louis James Nolan, Jr.
June 28, 1926 Virginia, US
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Died | October 24, 2008 McLean, Virginia, US
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(aged 82)
Alma mater |
1952: Parsons School of Design
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Occupation |
Artist: painter, graphic designer
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Years active | 1952–2007 |
Louis James Nolan, Jr. (born June 28, 1926, in Washington, D.C. – died October 24, 2008, in McLean, Virginia) was a talented American artist. He is famous for designing many posters for the U.S. Navy to help them find new recruits. From 1985 to 2007, he also illustrated about 25 stamps for the USPS.
Nolan also created designs for other important organizations like NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, and other parts of the U.S. Armed Forces. His amazing work was recognized with awards from groups like the Art Directors Club of New York and Print magazine. He even won gold and silver medals from the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington.
Contents
Career
Lou Nolan finished high school at St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., in 1944. After that, he served in the U.S. Navy from March 1945 to March 1946. He spent some of that time on a ship called the USS Savo Island.
After his Navy service, Nolan studied art at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C. He then graduated from New York's Parsons School of Design in 1952. He started his career in New York, designing books and creating illustrations. Later, he moved back to Washington, D.C., to work as a freelance artist, meaning he worked for himself and different clients.
In 1964, Nolan and two friends, Bill Duffy and Elmo James White, Jr., started their own art company called Nolan, Duffy & White, Inc. (ND&W) in Georgetown. Their main client was the U.S. Navy. Around 1971, their company joined another firm. After about ten years, Nolan decided to start his own company again, called Nolan and Associates.
In the 1960s, Nolan also created illustrations for The National Guardsman magazine and was even its Art Director in 1965. He retired in 1995 and passed away at his home in McLean thirteen years later, in 2008.
Amazing Artworks
Lou Nolan created many different types of art, from book illustrations to famous posters and postage stamps.
Posters for the U.S. Military
Nolan designed many posters, especially for the U.S. Navy, to encourage people to join.
- "Heritage" (1959): This is one of Nolan's most famous Navy images. It shows a Navy Petty Officer holding a child's hand on a pier, looking at the historic ship USS Constitution (also known as Old Ironsides). Nolan's brother and son posed for this painting. It was used for many years, even during and after the Vietnam War.
- "Night Run" – "Fly Navy" (1975): This poster features a famous drag racer, Tom McEwen, and his "Funny Car" with "Fly Navy" written on the side.
- "Navy Pilot" (1977): Nolan designed and illustrated this poster about Navy pilots.
- "Travel Navy": This poster shows two small Chinese boats in the foreground with the USS Miller (DD–535) anchored in Hong Kong Harbour in the background.
- "Peak Performance – Fly Navy": This poster shows a Navy jet flying over a city, with other jets and Navy ships below.
- "Sail With the Bold Ones" – "Navy": This poster shows a sailor on a ship with the American Flag, and the USS Saratoga (CV–60) in the background.
- "Ready for Action" – "Navy": This poster shows a sailor in combat gear on a battleship.
- "Command the Bold Ones" – "Navy" (1968): This was a recruiting poster for Navy officers.
- "Navy" – "Horizons Unlimited": This poster features Douglas A-4 Skyhawk jets.
- "Esteemed" – "Navy": This poster shows portraits of two sailors, one female and one male.
- "Then As Now ... Guardians of Freedom" – "Navy" (1966): This poster shows a modern sailor and officer with colonial sailors and the American flag in the background. It was made during the Vietnam War.
- "Pride" – "Navy": This poster shows two sailors on an aircraft carrier looking at the flight deck.
- "Serve With Pride" – "Navy".
- "Serve With Pride and Patriotism" – "Navy" (1966): This poster shows portraits of three modern Navy women: an enlisted sailor, a nurse, and an officer.
- "Fly Your Own Jet" – "U.S. Navy" – "It's An Education": This poster features an aviator adjusting his helmet.
- "Strong for Peace" – "Navy" (1972): This painting shows a Navy seaman and another combat-ready person with the USS John Paul Jones (DDG–32) battleship in the background.
U.S. Air Force Posters
- "Our American Eagles" (c. 1976): This poster for the U.S. Air Force celebrates the American Bicentennial (200 years). It shows three Air Force personnel from different eras: an airman, a World War I pilot, and an astronaut. In the background, you can see different aircraft, from early bi-planes to modern jets.
Art for NASA
Lou Nolan also contributed his artistic talents to NASA, the U.S. space agency.
- 1970: "The Grand Tour": This artwork for NASA's JPL showed the Pioneer 10 spacecraft traveling far beyond the orbit of Pluto.
- 1984: Nolan designed a special patch for NASA. This patch was worn by Christa McAuliffe, a schoolteacher who was part of the Space Shuttle Challenger mission and sadly died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Designing U.S. Stamps
Nolan designed many postage stamps for the U.S. Postal Service, including the first five stamps in the "American Design" series that started in 2002.
Transportation Stamps
- Transportation Series (1981–1995)
- 3.4¢ "School Bus" stamp (1985): This stamp showed a 1920s-style school bus.
- 17¢ "Dog Sled" stamp (1986): This stamp featured a 1920s Alaskan dog sled.
- 5¢ "Milk Wagon 1900s" stamp (1987).
- 5.3¢ "Elevator 1900s USA" stamp (1988): This stamp showed an elevator from the turn of the century.
- 16.7¢ "Popcorn Wagon" stamp (1988): This stamp featured a "Number 1 Wagon" popcorn machine.
Other Cool Stamps
- 100th Anniversary of the Accounting Profession in the United States:
- 22¢ "CPA" stamp (1987).
- President Reagan's "Take Pride in America" Campaign
- 14¢ postcard (1987): This postcard showed a beautiful Western Mountain Scene.
- Constitution Series
- 25¢ "Bill of Rights" stamp (1989).
- The Centennial of the "Pledge of Allegiance"
- 29¢ "I Pledge Allegiance" stamp (1992): This stamp featured an American flag.
- Opening of the National Postal Museum Commemoration (1993)
- Lou Nolan and Richard W. Schlecht helped design these stamps.
- 29¢ "Charles Lindbergh Single" stamp (1993): This stamp showed a portrait of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, along with an early mailplane, a mail truck, and a railway mail car.
- 29¢ "Benjamin Franklin Single" stamp (1993): This stamp featured Benjamin Franklin, known as a printer, postmaster, and statesman, with a printing press, a mail rider on a horse, and Independence Hall.
- 29¢ "Civil War Soldier Single" stamp (1993): This stamp showed a Civil War soldier playing a drum, with a Pony Express rider and a stagecoach in the background.
- 29¢ "California Gold Rush Miner's Letter Single" stamp (1993): This stamp showed a letter with famous old stamps on it, along with a modern barcode.
- Traditional and Contemporary Christmas Stamps (pull toys)
- 29¢ "Christmas Greetings – Toys booklet Multiple" stamp (1992).
- 29¢ "Toy Horse Booklet Single" stamp (1992).
- 29¢ "Toy Train Engine Booklet Single" stamp (1992): This stamp showed a toy locomotive.
- 29¢ "Toy Engine Booklet Single" stamp (1992): This stamp showed a toy fire pumper.
- 29¢ "Toy Steamboat Booket Single" stamp (1992): This stamp showed a toy steamboat.
- 29¢ "Christmas Stocking" stamp (1994).
- Rate Change Series
- G-rate "Old Glory" stamp (1994): This stamp showed an American flag and was set at a value of 32¢.
- American Design Series (2002–2008)
- This series of stamps highlighted objects that are both useful and beautiful from different parts of American history and cultures.
- 5¢ "American Toleware" stamp (2002, 2004): This stamp featured a toleware coffee pot. Toleware is a type of painted tin.
- 10¢ "The American Clock" stamp (2002, 2003, 2006, 2008): This stamp showed the face of a "banjo clock" made around 1805.
- 4¢ "The Chippendale Chair" stamp (2004, 2007, 2014): Nolan's illustration for this stamp was based on a fancy Chippendale chair with carvings.
- 1¢ "The Tiffany Lamp" stamp (2003, 2007, 2008): This stamp showed a beautiful lamp designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, known for its Art Nouveau style.
- 2¢ "Navajo Jewelry" stamp (2004, 2006, 2007, 2011): This stamp featured a squash blossom necklace, a type of traditional Navajo jewelry.
Other Artworks
- "Untitled" (1995): An artwork by Lou Nolan in the US Air Force Art Collection.
- "SAC": This artwork by Lou Nolan shows a Boeing B-47 Stratojet airplane flying.
Family Life
Lou Nolan's parents were Louis James Nolan and Mary J. White. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Emilie Jean Edwards in 1950. Later, around 1985, he married Sara Louise Danis, who was also a graphic designer.
Groups He Joined
In 1963, Lou Nolan was chosen to be on the Board of Directors for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, a group focused on conserving natural resources.