Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 4004
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 09-15-2025 05:05 PM
   
Just came across this lovely original watercolor painting that I thought would be fun to share. The size of the artwork is 14' x 17.5" on canvas that had been in my possession since veteran aerospace reporter Mary Bubb had passed on in 1988. I had never seen it before until it was mixed within a lot of Mary's larger photos and matted posters. At the bottom right corner of the painting is a small inscription that reads, "For Mary Bubb with best wishes / Cape Canaveral 1963," signed by artist Arthur Shilstone. At first, I had no idea of whom this space artist might be. In looking up his name, I found out that he was a prominent or well-known American illustrator mostly specializing in water- color. Shilstone (1922-2025) had a remarkable career with his artwork appearing in more than 30 national magazines, including National Geographic, Life, Smithsonian, and Sports Illustrated, just to name a few highlights. He became an official NASA commissioned artist from 1963 until 1982 and was one of eight top NASA artists that covered the maiden voyage of Columbia/STS-1 in 1981. This depiction is of the first Gemini Titan II (GT-1) rocket, which includes a full GLV with an uncrewed Gemini test spacecraft atop the full stack. Apparently the artist took the liberty to show a Gemini capsule mated atop the vehicle even though the top spacecraft section was not fitted together until March 1964. In late October 1963, both Titan stages arrived at Pad 19 a day apart and were erected at the pad. It may very well had been Shilstone's first space assignment for NASA and note that he used an U.S. Air Force insignia placed at the top portion of the Titan's first stage. As it turned out, GLV-1 never had an Air Force emblem on it when it flew in April 1964. After a quick search on the internet of Shilstone's artwork projects, his space work is rarely seen, but many of his pieces still reside at NASA's Kennedy Space Center along with a few, I believe, at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. One of his Space Shuttle paintings was reported at selling for nearly $5K in an auction, but other artwork and from other categories of his has gone as high as $10K of those few that I am aware of. |
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