About This Stamp
With this stamp featuring an illustration of a downhill skier, the U.S. Postal Service continues its tradition of honoring the spirit of athleticism and international unity inspired by the Olympic Games. First recorded in Greece in 776 B.C., the games began as a tribute to the Olympian gods who, it was believed, bestowed on humans the gifts of strength and fleetness of foot. The stamp was issued to coincide with the XXth Olympic Winter Games, which were held February 10–26, 2006, in Torino, Italy.
Artist John Mattos's work captures a skier cutting into a turn at full speed. The Olympic rings appear below the denomination. Type along the bottom border reads “2006 Olympic Winter Games.”
36 U.S.C. Sec. 220506. Official Licensed Product of the United States Olympic Committee.
Art Director
Derry Noyes
For more than 40 years Derry Noyes has designed and provided art direction for close to 800 United States postage stamps and stamp products. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Noyes worked as a graphics designer at Beveridge and Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, until 1979 when she established her own design firm, Derry Noyes Graphics. Her clients have included museums, corporations, foundations, and architectural and educational institutions. Her work has been honored by American Illustration, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts, Critique magazine, Graphis, Creativity International, and the Society of Illustrators.
Before becoming an art director for the U.S. Postal Service, she served as a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 1981 to 1983.
Noyes is a resident of Washington, D.C.