RADFORD– Ken Smith, Radford University assistant professor of graphic design, has won the Coast Guard Program’s George Gray Award for Artistic Excellence.

Smith’s oil painting “Air Station Savannah” depicts AET2 Taylor Anderson (Avionics Electrical Technician) pausing in her work aboard the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter at Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, near Savannah, Georgia.

The United States Coast Guard recognizes one artist each year from among many submissions to the Coast Guard Art Program (COGAP) to receive the George Gray Award for Artistic Excellence. Potential Coast Guard artists apply for acceptance into the program, and if accepted, submit works for possible inclusion in the Coast Guard’s Permanent Art Collection. The 2009 additions to the collection include 34 works by 19 artists.

A participant in the Coast Guard Art Program for two years, Smith was one of six artists chosen for official Coast Guard Artist deployment in 2008, from which the painting Air Station Savannah was created.

Mary Ann Bader, coordinator of the Coast Guard Art Program says, “This year's collection was among the very best collections we've had, so the competition for the award was very pronounced. Ken’s excellent and stunning painting captivated the jurors as well as all present that evening.”

Air Station Savannah will be included in a number of works to be displayed this fall at the Pritzker Military Library in downtown Chicago.