Sky & Telescope - USA (2019-09)

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BONESTELL’S BRILLIANCE by Donald Vaughan

60 SEPTEMBER 2019 • SKY & TELESCOPE

J

uly 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of

the Apollo 11 Moon landing, a historic

event that, with a single footstep, trans-

formed what had been pure science fi ction

into one of humankind’s most remarkable

scientifi c achievements.

Conquest of the Moon, many years and

millions of dollars in the making, had been

a popular theme among astronomical artists

for decades. Predominant among them was

Chesley Bonestell, whose paintings beauti-

fully conveyed the awe and majesty of our

planetary neighbors as well as the technical complexity of

their exploration.

From the 1940s through the 1980s, Bonestell was a

ubiquitous cultural presence. His artwork graced book cov-

ers, science fi ction magazines, and mainstream publications

such as Life and Collier’s, for which he illustrated articles by

the likes of Willy Ley and Wernher von Braun. But in the

Groundbreaking space artist

Chesley Bonestell painted the

future that we live in today.

years following Bonestell’s passing at age 98,

public recognition of his name and infl uence

began to wane. Endeavoring to reintroduce

Bonestell to contemporary audiences, as well as cement his

status as the grandmaster of modern astronomical art, fi lm-

maker Douglass Stewart produced Chesley Bonestell: A Brush

with the Future, the fi rst documentary to explore the artist’s

life, career, and cultural infl uence.

“Chesley Bonestell nurtured the inspiration to go out and

explore what we see in the heavens above us,” Stewart says.

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pRED ROCK DESERT In this illustration from The

Exploration of Mars, co-authored by Willy Ley and

Wernher von Braun in 1956, Chesley Bonestell placed

astronauts in a landscape reminiscent of the deserts

of the American Southwest.

tINSPIRED START Trained as an architect, Bonestell

took up astronomical painting after viewing Saturn

through the 12-inch refractor at Lick Observatory.