Remarkably rare flown oil painting and lapel pin carried aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia during the STS-61-C mission from January 12-18, 1986, as part of NASA's Get Away Special (GAS) program, which was designed to test organic art materials such as oil-based paints, linen canvas, primers, and bonding materials for degradation during space flight. The experiment was conceived by Ellery Kurtz and Howard Wishnow, the founders and co-owners of Vertical Horizon, a New York company dedicated towards the understanding, development, and enhancement of life in space. In 1985 Kurtz created a series of four 12 x 16 oil paintings that were eventually rolled and stored in a pressurized canister throughout the duration of the Columbia's six-day journey; the offered STS-61-C flown painting is signed and identified on the reverse of the canvas, "DP1, Ellery Kurtz, 1985." The flown enamel pin measures approximately .75″ in diameter and features the logo of the Vertical Horizons/STS project. In overall fine condition.
Accompaniments include: a Vertical Horizons press release; copies of articles from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post; a 10-page report from Vertical Horizons entitled “G.A.S. Payload #481, The Transportation of Fine Arts Materials Aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia”; and certificates of authenticity for both the pin and painting from the original artist, with the latter reading: “In January, 1986, four small oil paintings of mine were flown into space on board the Space Shuttle Columbia, as part of a conservation experiment to determine the effects of space travel on original works of art…Analysis both pre-flight and post-flight have determined that there were no changes in the paintings due to the tremendous forces they had been subjected to by space.” Backed by rock solid provenance, this marks an amazing opportunity to own one of the first original oil paintings flown into outer space.
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