Air and Space Museum Shows How Artists Imagined Flight

Long before the first moon landing, artists were already imagining humans among the stars.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum just unveiled "The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight," a stunning collection running through next summer. It features everything from Francisco Goya's 1815 etchings of winged figures to Norman Rockwell's haunting 1967 portrait of an astronaut gazing at distant worlds.

Rockwell's painting, commissioned by Look magazine, shows more than a spacesuit. His subject's blue-green eyes hold a marvelous depth, capturing the wonder of someone facing boundless possibilities. "Science explains how we fly; art explores what flight means," says curator Carolyn Russo.

The show proves artists often see the future before it arrives. French pilot Henri Farré flew combat missions in World War I with a sketchpad strapped to his leg, sketching dogfights in midair against lavender clouds. NASA later recognized this power, creating an art program in the 1960s to help society imagine moon landings before they happened.

Why This Inspires

Artist Alma Thomas, the first graduate of Howard University's art program, captured the joy of space exploration perfectly. "I'm way up there on the moon," she declared. "Stay down there if you want to. I'm long gone."

Her 1970 painting "Blast Off" explodes with coral, navy, and pink brushstrokes, showing a rocket's journey as pure celebration. Photographer Anne Noggle, a former Women Airforce Service pilot, brought that same spirit to her portraits of female aviators, capturing their courage and zeal for flight.

Robert Shore's 1969 pastel overlays a human face on the moon's surface in icy blues and pale mints. It's playful yet profound, showing how artists help us see ourselves in these grand adventures.

The exhibition opens alongside two new galleries this fall, completing the museum's multiyear renovation. Walking past aircraft and rockets, space suits and moon rovers, these artworks remind visitors that human imagination launched us skyward long before any engine did.

"Artists often help society imagine possibilities before they become realities," Russo explains.

These painters, sculptors, and photographers share a navigator's impulse: to venture beyond, to find wonder in the unknown, and to see in the stars a world that might one day be ours.