Louis James Nolan, Jr. (28 June 1926 Washington, D.C.[1] – 24 October 2008 McLean, Virginia) was an American artist who, among other things, designed several United States Navy recruiting posters and, from 1985 through 2007, illustrated about twenty-five USPSstamps. In Navy literature, he is sometimes incorrectly credited as Lloyd Nolan. Nolan also created designs for NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, the other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and several federal agencies. His work was honored by the Art Directors Club of New York and Print magazine. He won gold and silver medals from the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington.[a]
Nolan studied fine art at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C., and graduated from New York's Parsons School of Design in 1952. He worked as a book designer and illustrator in New York, then returned to Washington to begin a freelance career. Nolan had been working for Creative Arts Studio, Inc., in Washington, D.C., when, in February 1964, in Georgetown, he and two other employees – Bill Duffy and Elmo James White, Jr. (1936–2020)[4] – founded Nolan, Duffy & White, Inc. (ND&W), a commercial art firm.[5][6][7][8][9] The Navy was the firm's primary client. Around 1971, the firm merged into the predecessor of White64 (E. James White Company → White+Partners, etc.), founded by White. After about ten years, Nolan and Duffy went out on their own. Nolan founded Nolan and Associates, Duffy became a freelance artist.
In the 1960s, Nolan illustrated for The National Guardsman, and, in January 1965, was credited as its Art Director.[10]
Nolan retired in 1995. He died thirteen years later, October 24, 2008, at his home in McClean.[11]
Deerin, James Benedict (Col., US Army, Ret.) (1915–1980) (author); Nolan, Lou (book jacket design) (1976). Walker, Luther Loneith, Capt. (born 1939); Tennill, Clint Jr. (eds.). The National Guard Heritage Encampment (souvenir booklet). Washington, D.C.: National Guard Association of the United States.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)OCLC12301584 (image).[14]
Deerin, James Benedict (Col., US Army, Ret.) (1915–1980) (author); Nolan, Lou (book cover design) (1976). The Militia in the Revolutionary War. Washington, D.C.: Historical Society of the Militia and National Guard, forerunner to the National Guard Educational Foundation. OCLC6101476.
Nolan, Lou (cover art) (August–September 1976). "Cover" (Special Issue). 30 (8): cover. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Google Books→ Nolan's cover illustration depicts a militiaman of the 1st Maryland Regiment reenactment during the Heritage Encampment on the Mall in Washington, August 28–29, 1976. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)[15]
Nolan, Lou (artist, cover) (October 1976). "Cover". 30 (9): cover & 1. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Google Books.→ Nolan's cover illustration is a composite of selected sketches by Amos Doolittle (1754–1832). The image depicts a militiaman, in the foreground, looking at the Concord Bridge (Concord, Massachusetts) (see Old North Bridge), in the background. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: postscript (link)
Posters
U.S. Navy recruiting posters
"Heritage", by Louis James Nolan, Jr. (signed on the lower left), gouache on illustration board, painted and printed in 1959; re-printed in 1973, used throughout the Vietnam War and post-Vietnam War era. Nolan painted it under contract to the Navy Recruiting Command. It is one of the most recognized Navy images of the past 60 years and was recently incorporated into the logo of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC). The original painting hangs in the stairwell of the Fleet and Family Support Center aboard Naval Base San Diego. Nolan's brother, Bryan Hoyt Nolan (1944–2010), who then was a sailor, and Nolan's son, James Nolan, posed for the painting. Nolan painted it in his backyard in Bethesda, Maryland.[16] The painting depicts a Petty Officer First Class holding the hand of a child on a pier, looking at the historic USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). Catalog no. NH67050-KN; NH Accession nos. 83-076-A & 69-274-V-01; OCLC895002022.
RAD 67509
RAD 74715
"Night Run" – "Fly Navy" (Tom "Mongoose" McEwen: Drag Racing) (1975) (12" x 24"). Re: Tom McEwen (1937–2018) – depicts McEwen's 1971 Plymouth Duster Demon Funny Car with "Fly Navy" sponsorship shown on the side.[17]Don Prudhomme (the "Snake") was sponsored by the U.S. Army.
U.S. Government Printing Office 1975—652–505
RAD 599–0546
"Navy Pilot" (1977). Lou Nolan (designer and illustrator); Fred Grumm (art director); Fred J. Maroon (1924–2001) (photographer); Hank Fankhauser (copywriter).[18]
"Peak Performance – Fly Navy" – features a Navy jet flying over a city, with another jet and other Navy vessels below. Catalog no. NH67034-KN.
NRAF 64409
NRAF 65411
"Sail With the Bold Ones" – "Navy"[17] – depicts a sailor in the foreground on a ship hoisting (or taking down) the American Flag while seagulls fly around. The ship in the background is the USS Saratoga (CV–60); 14" x 19" → Catalog no. NH67040-KN.
RAD 66308
RAD 67505
"Ready for Action" – "Navy" – depicts a sailor in combat attire aboard a battleship.
NRAF 41113
"Command the Bold Ones" – "Navy" (1968) – Navy officer recruiting poster. Catalog no. NH67035-KN.
"Esteemed" – "Navy" – depicting portraits of two sailors, female (in front) and male.
NRAF 11113
"Then As Now ... Guardians of Freedom" – "Navy" (1966) – Painting of a contemporary sailor and officer (holding binoculars) in the foreground and silhouettes a colonial sailor and officer in the background with the American flag overhead. Issued during the Vietnam War period; 28.5" x 40". Catalog no. NH67036-KN.
"Pride" – "Navy" (signed on the lower right) – depicting two sailors aboard an aircraft carrier looking at the flight deck with a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk (No. 309) in the background and two runway controllers in the background.
"Serve With Pride" – "Navy" (signed on the lower right). Catalog no. NH69646-KN
"Serve With Pride and Patriotism" – "Navy"[17] (GPO 1966) (1966) (signed on the lower right) – depicts portraits of three modern Navy women: Enlistee, Nurse, Officer. Catalog no. NH67041-KN.
RAD 66511 – GPO 1966 O–796
NRAF 47101
"Fly Your Own Jet" – "U.S. Navy" – "It's And Education" – featuring an aviator adjusting his helmet. Catalog no. NH67039-KN.
RAD 67502
"Strong for Peace" – "Navy" (1972) – painting, wash, gouache and pencil on paper – features a portrait of a Navy seaman in the background and a combat outfitted personnel wearing a Helmut and life-preserver in the foreground with the USS John Paul Jones (DDG–32) battleship in rough sea between the two. NH Accession No. 97-107-FX
"Heritage", Lou Nolan (1959)
"Horizons Unlimited", Lou Nolan (c. 1960s)
U.S. Air Force recruiting poster
U.S. Air Force recruiting poster: Lithograph – "'Our American Eagles' The United States Air Force Salutes The American Bicentennial 1776–1976" (c. 1976) – depicting three Airforce personnel: (i) an airman, (ii) a World War I era pilot, and (iii) an astronaut. In the background is a Wrights brothers bi-plane, two World War I bi-planes, a modern jet, (iv) two eagles, and a star insignia.[19] (image)
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NRAF = Navy Recruiting Aids Facility, a bygone headquarters for U.S. Navy Recruiting located in (i) Baltimore at East Fallsway and Monument Streets – west of the East Monument Historic District and at the Navy Yard Annex, Washington, D.C. The unit was once commanded by James G. Readen (1901–1960).
Quote: foregrounded against its red line trajectory and the planets with their blue-green orbital lines. link
1984: Nolan designed a patch for NASA that was worn by Christa McAuliffe, the schoolteacher who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.[11] Nolan's granddaughter, Nashville vocalist Danica Dora, with vocalist Josh Kaler, recorded an album in 1915, Together in Space – and dedicated it (and the album artwork) to Christa McAuliffe. The album artwork is by Joshua M. Burggraf (born 1983).[22]
United States Postage Stamps
Nolan designed many stamp products for the U.S. Postal Service® and more than a dozen stamps, including the first five in the American Design series that began in 2002. Some of these stamps have been reprinted in recent years, including:
Transportation Series (1981–1995)
3.4¢ postage stamp: "School Bus", a 1920s-style school bus – at a rate for carrier route third-class bulk mailings by nonprofit organizations.[23][24]
17¢ postage stamp: "Dog Sled."[25][26] depicting a 1920s Alaskan dog sled witihout reigns or traces, based on archive photographs and a sled displayed (in 1986) at the Smithsonian – a type of sled that was still (as of 1986) built and used in Alaska.[27]
5.3¢ postage stamp: "Elevator 1900s USA", depicting a turn-of-the-century elevator, nonprofit; carrier route sort; the 5.3¢ was to accommodate nonprofit third class mailers who presort. Gary Chaconas and Dennis Brown of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing engraved the stamp.[30]
16.7¢ postage stamp: "Popcorn Wagon", a definitive stamp, depicting a popcorn wagon, "Number 1 Wagon", manufactured by the C. Cretors & Company of Chicago. 16.7¢ was the basic bulk rate.[33]
Lou Nolan and Richard W. Schlecht (born 1936), designers
29¢ postage stamp: "Charles Lindbergh Single," depicting a portrait of Lindbergh wearing an aviator hat who was a 20th century airmail pilot, and, in the background, JN-4H "Jenny" bi-plane #38262 (the nation's first mailplane), a 1931 Model A Ford mail truck, and a railway mail car.
29¢ postage stamp: "Benjamin Franklin Single", depicting a portrait of Franklin with an 18th century themed printing press (lower right), a mounted mailrider on a galloping horse (upper right), and Independence Hall (lower left foreground), reflecting his career as printer, postmaster and statesmen.
29¢ postage stamp: "Civil War Soldier Single", depicting a Civil War era soldier playing a field drum with a 19th century themed mounted Pony Express rider on a galloping horse (upper left background) and Concord stagecoach (lower right foreground).
"The American Design series showcases objects from various regions, eras, and ethnic cultures that combine utility with beauty and function with form".[58]
5¢ postage stamp: "American Toleware," a definitive stamp – by Lou Nolan (illustrator); Derry Noyes (designer, Art Director, typographer); and Donald H. Woo (modeler) – depicting a toleware coffee pot," from the Winterthur Museum (2002, 2004).[59] This stamp is not to be confused with two the 15¢ postage stamps, "Pennsylvania Toleware, Folk Art USA" – from the Folk Art Series – in photogravure by Bradbury Thompson (1911–1995), one depicting a straight spout pot, issued in 1979. (Scott No. USA 1775) and one depicting a curved spout (Scott No. USA 1778). The word "toleware" is French for "painted tin" and, since the 17th century, has bee painted by the Pennsylvania Dutch.
4¢ postage stamp: "The Chippendale Chair" (2004, 2007, 2014). Nolan's stylized illustration is based on a Chippendale side chair (chair without arms)[70] that is part of a collection in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. The patterned back features spiral ornaments (scrolls) and carvings of a tassel and a shell.
[71][72]
1¢ postage stamp: "The Tiffany Lamp" – a definitive stamp, designed by Derry Noyes (aka Derry N. Craig → married to Washington attorney Gregory B. Craig; née Derry Noyes; born 1952) and illustrated by Nolan. The work depicts a lamp designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), capturing the Art Nouveau movement.
"Untitled" – Lou Nolan, February 20, 1986, U.S. Air Force Art Collection.
Family
Nolan was born to the marriage of Louis James Nolan (1905–1976) and Mary J. White (born 1905). He married twice, first – on June 3, 1950, at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. – to Emilie Jean Edwards (maiden; 1926–2017);[88] then – around 1985 – to Sara Louise Danis (maiden; 1940–2001), a graphic designer.[89]
Bernhardt, Gordon Joel (born 1960) (March 2013). "Jim White". Profiles in Success. Bernhart Wealth Management. Retrieved July 22, 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link).
Nolan, Lou (cover art) (June 1963). "Our Cover"(PDF). 17 (6): cover("Artist Lou Nolan dramatically illustrates the long way the Nation has come from the Minuteman of 1775 to the Globe-ranging, missile-armed Guardsman of 1963") {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
Nolan, Lou (cover art) (October 1976). "Cover". 30 (9): cover→ Nolan's cover illustration is a composite of a selected sketch or sketches by Amos Doolittle (1754–1832). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
Walker, Luther Loneith, Capt. (born 1939), ed. (October 1976). "Letters to the Editor". 30 (9): 50. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
Nazar, Richard Joseph (born 1963) (ed.); Plate Number Coil Study Group (compiler) (November 1994). The 1995 Plate Number Coil Catalog(PDF) (8th ed.). Somerset, New Jersey: Nazar Publications, Inc. (publisher). Retrieved July 22, 2021.
Nolan, Kerry Michael (born 1956) (April 5, 2010). "Navy Poster Art". Navy History Blog. U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved July 22, 2021→ Kerry Michael Nolan is a son of Louis James Nolan, Jr.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: postscript (link)
Untitled; Nolan, Lou (artist) (November 1, 1995). "Untitled" (U.S. Air Force Art Collection). Series: Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files, 1982–2007. Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1921–2008. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
S.A.C.; Nolan, Lou (artist) (November 1, 1995). "S.A.C." Series: Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files, 1982–2007. Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1921–2008. Retrieved July 22, 2021.