About This Stamp
The 33rd stamp in the Black Heritage series honors pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, who wrote, directed, produced, and distributed more than 40 movies during the first half of the 20th century. An ambitious, larger-than-life figure, Micheaux thrived at a time when African-American filmmakers were rare, venues for their work were scarce, and support from the industry did not exist. Micheaux’s entrepreneurial spirit and independent vision continue to inspire new generations of filmmakers and artists.
This stamp features a stylized portrait of Oscar Micheaux by Gary Kelley. The artwork is based on one of the few surviving photographs of Micheaux, a portrait that appeared in his 1913 novel The Conquest.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
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.
Stamp Artist
Gary Kelley
Renowned illustrator Gary Kelley has created award-winning images for many of America’s major publications and corporations including Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, the National Football League, and Google.
Educated in his native Iowa at the University of Northern Iowa, Kelley received an honorary doctor of humane letters from his alma mater in 1995. His work — honored by the Society of Illustrators as Best in Show as well as with gold and silver medals — has been exhibited throughout the U.S., as well as in Tokyo and Paris. Kelley has illustrated nearly 30 picture books. He has lectured or taught at the Smithsonian Institution, the Chicago Art Institute, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Art Center College of Design, among others. In 2006, Kelley was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.
In 1998, the U.S. Postal Service issued his designs for four stamps celebrating Gospel Singers as part of the Legends of American Music series. In 2010, Kelley illustrated the Oscar Micheaux stamp and in 2012, four Great Film Directors stamps. Most recently, Kelly illustrated the stamp art for the 2020 Voices of the Harlem Renaissance issuance.