Futuristic, detailed, and very precise, this science-fiction inspired imagination of cosmos exploration was created in 1963 as the cover of the British magazine Understanding Science #71, a Sampson Low Publication. Geared to the high school audience, and part of the ongoing space race effort to get youths interested in science during the Cold War, the image dramatizes astronomy by showing a compentant male figure manning an oversized telescope with the Milky Way swirling around the skies adding a near psychedelic pop of color and sparkle. This delightful gouache on illustration board cover painting is unsigned, and likely the work of a British commercial artist. The painting is handsomely matted and framed under glass.
