Stan Stokes is an American painter known for his aviation art. His work hangs in three presidential libraries

Presidential library

In the United States, the Presidential library system is a nationwide network of 13 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration...

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Since the mid-1980s NASA has commissioned Stokes to paint 15 works ranging from the Space Shuttles to the SR-71 Blackbird

SR-71 Blackbird

The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...

. Stokes has also painted numerous works for Burt Rutan

Burt Rutan

Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...

. Stokes's works hang in the Air Force art collection

United States Air Force Art Program

The USAF Art Program of the United States Air Force was begun in 1950, with the transfer of ~800 works of art from the United States Army.- History :...

, the United States Air Force Academy

United States Air Force Academy

The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...

, The Pentagon

The Pentagon

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

, the San Diego Air & Space Museum, the Palm Springs Air Museum

Palm springs air museum

The Palm Springs Air Museum, is a non-profit educational institution in Palm Springs, Riverside County, California. The Museum's mission is to exhibit, educate and eternalize the role of the World War II combat aircraft and the role the pilots and American citizens had in winning the war...

, the National Museum of Naval Aviation

National Museum of Naval Aviation

The National Museum of Naval Aviation is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. The museum opened in 1962....

, and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...

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His work encompasses portraits, landscapes, aviation and space, ships, cars and his new collection of cat-related fine art paintings. Stokes's art has been published in numerous books and periodicals. Stokes is working on a book honoring the Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....

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Presidential library works

Stokes's 12 foot by 120 foot mural of the "History of the Flying White House" is on permanent display in the new Air Force One Pavilion of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs is the presidential library and final resting place of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates, the library is located in Simi Valley, California, about northwest of...

. In addition, Stokes's painting of the USS Ronald Reagan

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

USS Ronald Reagan is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the service of the United States Navy. The ninth ship of her class, she is named in honor of former President Ronald Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 to 1989...

 is hanging in the library's Legacy Room.

The George Bush Presidential Library

George Bush Presidential Library

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. It was dedicated on Nov. 6, 1997 and opened to the public shortly thereafter...

 in College Station, Texas

College Station, Texas

College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...

, has two paintings by Stokes on permanent display. Both are of the USS George H.W. Bush

USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77)

USS George H.W. Bush is the tenth and final Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy. She is named for the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, who was a naval aviator during World War II. Bush callsign is Avenger, after the TBM Avenger aircraft flown by...

, our nation's next aircraft carrier.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is part of the National Archives and Records Administration's presidential library system. The library is located at 1000 Beal Avenue on the north campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where Ford was a student and football player...

 contains the future aircraft carrier the USS Gerald R. Ford. The second painting is of the USS Monterey

USS Monterey (CVL-26)

USS Monterey was an Independence-class light aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, in service during World War II and used in training for several years thereafter....

, the carrier on which young Ford served with distinction in WWII.

Tuskegee Airmen Art

There will be 80 paintings depicting the history of black Americans in aviation with emphasis on the Tuskegee Airmen. Each painting will depict a specific event, person or military group with an in-depth description of what the painting represents.

Selected list of works

• 1934 American Classics
• Gotcha
• Off to the Turkey Shoot
• Sirens of Death
• Slashed by a Sabre
• Top Cover

Awards

• 1975: 1st place, Benedictine Art Awards
• 1985: 1st place, National Air and Space Museum's "Golden Age of Flight" art competition
• 2000: R.G. Smith Award
  R.G. Smith Award
  The R.G. Smith Award for “excellence in naval aviation art” is awarded annually to a single artist at the National Naval Aviation Museum during its annual May symposium in Pensacola, Florida. The Museum’s Foundation selects the recipient. The award is a career honor, similar to a lifetime...
  
  , National Museum of Naval Aviation

External links

• http://www.stanstokes.net/
• http://www.stanstokesart.com/
• http://www.tuskegeeairmenart.com/