About This Stamp
In 2002 the United States Postal Service issued this stamp to recognize the bicentennial of the United States Military Academy. The stamp features a color photograph taken by Ted Spiegel of the West Point coat of arms.
The coat of arms consists of an American bald eagle atop the United States shield. In its right talon the eagle holds seven gold arrows and a branch of oak leaves; in its left talon the eagle holds six gold arrows and a branch of laurel leaves. On the shield is a helmet of Pallas Athena — the Greek goddess of wisdom, learning, and warfare — as well as a Greek sword, a classical symbol of military power. A scroll above the shield contains on one side the West Point motto: “Duty, Honor, Country,” and on the other side the name “West Point,” the founding year 1802 in Roman numerals “MDCCCII,” and the abbreviation “U.S.M.A.”
Art Director & 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.