Tuskegee Airmen

Copied Janice Hobson, Tuskegee Airmen, 2012, cotton fabric, cotton batt, acrylic paint, metallic thread, button, and beads, 50 × 52 1⁄4 in. (127.0 × 132.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.27, © 2012, Janice E. Hobson

Artwork Details

Title
Tuskegee Airmen
Artist
Date
2012
Location
Dimensions
50 × 52 1⁄4 in. (127.0 × 132.7 cm)
Copyright
© 2012, Janice E. Hobson
Credit Line
Gift of Fleur S. Bresler
Mediums
Mediums Description
cotton fabric, cotton batt, acrylic paint, metallic thread, button, and beads
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — military — pilot
  • History — United States — World War II
  • African American
  • Figure
  • Architecture — vehicle — airplane
Object Number
2023.40.27
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2023.40.27

Artwork Description

Janice Hobson
born 1959, Chicago, IL
resides Chicago, IL

Tuskegee Airmen
2012
cotton fabric, cotton batting, acrylic paint, metallic thread, button, and beads

With three North American P-51 Mustangs lined up against a blue sky, Janice Hobson pays tribute to the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and their contribution to the cause of desegregating the military. 

In 1941, after decades of advocacy by civil rights leaders such as A. Philip Randolph and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) president Walter White, the US Air Force established the nation’s first African American flying unit, the 99th Fighter Squadron. The group earned their nickname by training at a base in Tuskegee, Alabama—Moton Field—that was built with support from the nearby Tuskegee Institute. They served with distinction in the Second World War, earning three presidential unit citations.

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2023.40.27


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