Art exhibit focused on Desert Shield and Desert Storm now open

An art exhibit commemorating the 25th anniversary of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm is now open at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The exhibit, titled “Storm in the Desert,” features 28 paintings and may be viewed daily during regular museum hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The artwork is displayed in the museum’s Hall of Honor, and admission to the museum and the exhibit is free. The exhibit will be open through Labor Day 2016.

Iraqi forces attacked Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, setting into motion a massive military response from a coalition of nations to protect Saudi Arabia from invasion with Operation Desert Shield. After Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein refused every opportunity to withdraw from Kuwait, Operation Desert Shield gave way to Operation Desert Storm on Jan. 17, 1991 (Jan. 16 in the United States), and the Coalition air forces devastated the Iraqi war machine. The artwork displayed in this exhibit, which is on loan from the U.S. Air Force Art Program, provides a retrospective look at those operations.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.

NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286.