
ED DWIGHT
Ed Dwight is a graduate engineer, a former USAF Test Pilot and America’s first African American Astronaut candidate. Not only did he have a successful career in the Air Force, he’s also been an IBM Systems Engineer, a restauranteur, an aviation consultant, a real estate and construction entrepreneur, and a visual artist, dedicating the last 43 years solely to his artistic endeavors. After being commissioned to create a bronze bust of George Brown, Colorado’s lieutenant governor in 1974, Ed enrolled at the University of Denver in the Master of Fine Arts Program and received his MFA in 1977. In 1979, the National Park Service encouraged Ed to create a bronze series portraying the history and historical roots of Jazz. "JAZZ: An American Art Form" consists of more than 70 bronzes depicting the evolution of Jazz from its African roots to the fusion of contemporary music. He is the recipient of enumerable “Living Legends Awards” from around the country for his achievements in space activities and contributions in art and black history. Most recently, he was inducted and bestowed honorary membership in the newly created Space Force. There is even an asteroid named after him. And several of his bronze pieces have been on Space Missions. Ed Dwight is a true renaissance man!