About This Stamp
This stamp in the Distinguished Americans series honors Mary Lasker (1900–1994), a philanthropist and citizen activist known for her enduring commitment to increase funding of medical research for major diseases and for her contributions to urban beautification.
Created by Mark Summers, the stamp artwork is based on an undated, black and white photograph. Summers is noted for his scratchboard technique, a style distinguished by a dense network of lines etched with exquisite precision.
Stamp Art Director
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.
Stamp Artist
Mark Summers
Mark Summers works out of his studio in Waterdown, Ontario, Canada. He is known for his detail-rich, black-and-white portraits of literary and historical figures. His drawings, which are regularly featured in the New York Times Book Review section, are distinguished by a dense network of horizontal lines etched with exquisite precision. This scratchboard technique, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century engraved illustrations, has been used by Summers in numerous stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service including those honoring Claude Pepper (2000), Wilma Rudolph (2004), Harriet Beecher Stowe (2007), James A. Michener (2008), and Abraham Lincoln (2009). While attending the Ontario College of Art in 1976, Summers was introduced to the scratchboard technique by the respected Canadian political cartoonist Duncan Macpherson.
Summers' present endeavors include illustrating book covers, as well as editorial, institutional, and advertising artwork. Some of his best known work was done for Barnes & Noble bookstores where his drawings appear on shopping bags, banners, and vans. Publishing clients include TIME magazine, Rolling Stone (where he currently illustrates the back page of each issue), Sports Illustrated, and The Atlantic. Summers has also created logos for Eddie Bauer and comedian Tim Allen.
Summers has been honored by the Society of Illustrators with two gold medals and one silver medal. He was selected by the Society to receive the coveted Hamilton King award in 2000. In 2019 he was inducted into the Illustrators Hall of Fame.
The 2026 Sarah Orne Jewett stamp is Summers' latest project for the Postal Service.