James Dean

Black and white rendering of NASA's manned space station.

Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, James Dean attended the Swain School of Design in nearby New Bedford, before eventually playing a key role in the creation of the NASA art program. He became the NASA director of films, publications and television, then founding director of the Fine Arts Program at NASA from 1961-1974, after which serving as the Curator of Art at the National Air and Space Museum.

Additionally, Dean illustrated astronaut Michael Collins’ book Liftoff: The Story of America’s Adventure in Space.

Here, you will find a selection of illustrations by Dean during his time at NASA alongside his reference photos. Dean created some of the most iconic depictions of the Space Station and Space Shuttle, some of which you can see here.

See finding aid for the James Dean Collection to see other materials available for research.

Black and white pencil sketch of Dr. Maxime Faget by James Dean.
Black and white portrait photograph of Maxime Faget. This photograph was likely used by Dean as a reference.
Pencil sketches of thumbnail for Michael Collins' book, "Liftoff." These feature the Gemini space capsule.
Ink drawing of the Gemini Capsule for Michael Collins' book, "Liftoff."
Ink drawing of Titan II, an intercontinental ballistic missile that was adapted to function as a space launch vehicle.
Illustrated poster about NASA's Space Station.
This photograph is a computer generated view of the revised configuration of the NASA Space Station, complete with labels.
Black and white clip art of the space shuttle, published by NASA in 1982.
Black and white diagrams of the United States Space Shuttle Orbiter 1/25 scale model.
Pencil sketch of the NASA Space Station by James Dean.

‹›