ESPIONART has previously reported on the art collections of some unlikely American institutions, including the NASA Art Program, the Navy Art Collection and the DIA Military Art Collection.

Another to add to that list is the United States Air Force Art Collection, which was created in 1950, just as the Cold War was beginning to heat up. Soon afterwards the USAF Art Program was also founded, arranging for selected artists to travel with the Air Force to locations around the world and record its activities. The artists were chosen from professional groups across the country and in particular the Society of Illustrators.

Today the collection, held in the Pentagon, contains nearly 9,000 works. While the majority of the paintings and drawings are aviation art, with detailed depictions of everything from bombers and missiles to gunships and cargo planes, there is also a large number of more general military scenes, portraits of noted Air Force personnel, images of civilians affected by warfare and original artwork for Air Force recruitment posters. Key events from the Cold War include the Berlin Airlift and the Fall of Saigon.

The United States Air Force Art Collection has been digitised and is now available to view online.

Images: Top – Emilio Arias, The Collapse of Viet Cong, n.d. (1975); Bottom – Gil Cohen, Berlin Airlift / Staying Power – Berlin, 1948–49. Courtesy United States Air Force Art Collection.