High Art Takes Flight @Air and Space

The title of the High Art: A Decade of Collecting exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of Air and Space takes on multiple meanings. You have the concept of high art as meaningful, quality work. But, of course, the title is also a play on the idea of high art as works representing humankind's enduring fascination with flight.

The exhibit, which is on display until Dec.1, features 50 works from the Smithsonian institution's 7,000-piece collection. It is divided into 3 categories.

Visions of Flight
Flight has always been a subject of art. The Egyptians created hieroglyphics that portrayed birdmen. Leonard DaVinci drew flying machines. Michelangelo envisioned flying angels. This section captures flight in the imagination. Below is an imaginative painting titled Conscious Evolution: The World as One inspired by the Earth views from space and conversations from astronauts.

Faces of Flight
Here you will find depictions of the famous associated with flight from Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan to astronauts John Glenn and Eileen Collins. The picture below is of French World War II ace George Guyneman, who disappeared on Sept. 11, 1917.

Looking Back
This section features posters from the first air shows and noted movies about flight. Below is the poster for John Wayne in Jet Pilot.