Nathan H. Glick (June 10, 1912 – October 16, 2012) was an American artist and illustrator best known for his work as a combat artist depicting aerial battles in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He also worked as art director for '' Progressive Farmer'' magazine, and as the illustrator of several books on early

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

history. Glick was born in

Leeds, Alabama Leeds is a tri-county municipality located in Jefferson, St. Clair, and Shelby counties in the State of Alabama and is an eastern suburb of Birmingham. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 12,324. Leeds was founded in 1877, ...

in 1912 but finished high school in Montgomery. He continued his art studies under

Eric Pape Frederic L. Pape (October 17, 1870 – November 7, 1938), known as Eric Pape, was an American painter, engraver, sculptor, and illustrator. Early life Pape was born in San Francisco, California, on October 17, 1870 to Friederich Ludwig and ...

and George Ennis in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and studied animal anatomy under James L. Clarke at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

. During the 1930s, Glick was art director for Paragon Press, a small publisher which issued history works by Alabama state archivist

Marie Bankhead Owen Marie Bankhead Owen (September 1, 1869 – March 1, 1958) was Director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History for over three decades, as well as a documentarian of Alabama history who authored numerous books on the subject. Owen served ...

. She also commissioned him to design the scenes cast in bronze for the doors of Alabama's

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

Alabama Department of Archives and History building. During World War II, Glick was assigned as combat artist for the Ninth Air Force. He created dramatic scenes of combat in the skies of North Africa, France, India and the South Pacific. The Air Force's public relations department distributed his drawings for publication in '' Yank'', '' Stars and Stripes'', ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'', ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' and ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

''. After the end of the war, Glick returned to Birmingham and took a job as art director and illustrator for ''Progressive Farmer'', retiring in 1977. He continued to contribute illustrations of Alabama history to books and helped create a series of fourteen murals for the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

Forest Heritage Center Beavers Bend State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in McCurtain County. It is approximately north of Broken Bow on SH-259A. It was established in 1937 and contains Broken Bow Lake.

in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. His drawings, lithographs and paintings are also sold through private galleries. The "Nathan Glick Lifetime Achievement Award for Aviation Art" created by Birmingham's

Southern Museum of Flight The Southern Museum of Flight is a civilian aviation museum Birmingham, Alabama. The facility features nearly 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to ...

is named in his honor.

References

* Few, John (November 6, 2008) "Noted WWII artist Nathan Glick visits Demopolis." ''Demopolis Times'' * Strickland, Susan (November 30, 2008) "Southeastern Aviation Art Expo gala set." ''Birmingham News''

External links

Scenes from Alabama's History
information on the Alabama Archives Building's bronze doors 2012 deaths Artists from Birmingham, Alabama People from Leeds, Alabama American war artists American art directors American illustrators American centenarians Men centenarians 1912 births World War II artists Aviation artists {{US-illustrator-stub