The nation lost an inspirational figure when Bob McCall died on
Friday, February 26. As an artist, Bob invited people around the
globe to share his optimistic dreams of a human future in space.
A native of Columbus, Ohio and a graduate of the Columbus School
of Fine Arts, McCall came out of the Army Air Forces at the end
of WW II and established himself as a successful advertising
illustrator with a number of magazine covers to his credit. But
it was the notion of flying through air and space that truly
inspired him. Beginning in the 1950s, he produced over forty
works for the U.S. Air Force art collection. When James Webb,
administrator of NASA, created an agency art program in the
1960s, Bob McCall was one of the first artists invited to
participate. He became a favorite with Hollywood, as well,
producing major paintings and posters for films such as 2001: A
Space Odyssey, and Tora, Tora, Tora. McCall was perhaps best
known for his murals. The Space Mural — A Cosmic View (1976),
which he painted on a south