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Air Force Art to be Featured at Montgomery Musuem Of Fine Arts

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christopher Horton
  • Maxwell Public Affairs

The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts will host a military open house Thursday, August 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., featuring a special exhibit of Air Force art.  

This FREE family-oriented evening is open to all active duty military, veterans and their immediate families.  The event will include guided tours, ARTWORKS interactive family galleries, art-making activities, dinner catered by Wintzell’s Oyster House, live music by the Lo-Fi Loungers, and the opening of an important temporary exhibition;  1917–2017: A Century of U.S. Airpower from the Air Force Art Collection.

A Century of U.S. Airpower will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Air Force becoming a separate branch of the U.S. military. The exhibition depicts the involvement of the Wright Brothers in Montgomery and the subsequent development and growth of the U.S. Air Force. It was organized in partnership by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and Maxwell Air Force Base and will be on view August 26 through October 1 to the general public.

“There are approximately 650 official Air Force paintings in over a dozen art accounts across Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex,” said Dr. Robert Kane, Air University historian. “The museum folks and I selected 40 paintings from this large number from most of the art accounts.  These paintings represent the history of airpower over the last hundred years.”

“What is extraordinary about the art on display is that it offers visitors a sweeping and memorable overview of America’s military experience and the critical role it has played in our nation’s history,” said Jennifer Jankauskas, Ph.D., Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts curator.

Military and civilian patrons are encouraged to come out and enjoy the historical pieces and see how the Air Force has grown through the years through art. Some of the art on display will depict Air Force leaders, such General Henry "Hap" Arnold who led the Army Air Corps in the late 1930s and the Army Air Forces during World War II, and Airman First Class William Pitsenbarger, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his heroism in April 1966 during the Vietnam War.

The Air Force art exhibit will be on display August 26th through October 1st, 2017and is FREE to all visitors.