The San Diego Air & Space Museum has been honored with a momentous donation of over 100 original works from the esteemed local artist and illustrator Roy Gjertson. This collection, a treasure trove of pivotal works in the artist’s career at Convair General Dynamics, a regional aircraft manufacturer, is a significant addition to our Museum’s collection. Founded in 1923, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation (later Convair, then merging with General Dynamics) became one of the most significant aircraft manufacturers in American history. For almost 60 years, this prolific company was synonymous with San Diego, building such aircraft as the PBY Catalina, B-24 Liberator, F-102 Delta Dagger, Atlas ICBM, and Tomahawk missile.

Gjertson’s journey as an artist is a testament to his unwavering dedication. He attended art school at the Minnesota Art Museum before moving to California in 1942, where he continued his education at the Art Center School of Los Angeles. His art career was interrupted during WWII when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving as a radio operator and gunner on B-24 Bombers. After the war, he worked as an illustrator on a series of jobs with aeronautical companies in Southern California. He was then hired by Convair/General Dynamics in 1969 as the company’s illustrator and designer.

During his over 20 years with the company, he generated hundreds of illustrations, project displays, and conceptual renditions depicting past, current, and potential future company projects. His illustrations adorned corporate presentations, pamphlets, calendars, publications, marketing materials, and the many oversized paintings displayed throughout the facilities. While his art often focused on airplanes, satellites, kites, and other flying objects, he was also fascinated by Civil War history, designing the Civil War Centennial postage stamp. He later did another stamp for the U.S. Postal Department on the Mariner 10 probe voyaging toward Mercury and Venus.

With the closure of the Convair General Dynamics plant in San Diego in 1995, the Museum acquired several oversized collage paintings by this artist, which are currently on display. This new acquisition, donated by the artist's family, further enhances the Museum’s existing collection and documents the artist's career in visual storytelling at Convair General Dynamics.

Roy Gjertson passed away in 2018.