Tom Engeman

Nationally acclaimed artist Tom Engeman, a resident of Frederick, MD, is well known for his poster and stamp designs. The winner of numerous design awards, he lists among his career accomplishments being the first art director for Washingtonian magazine, designing Historic Preservation magazine, and creating posters for the Metro, Washington’s new subway system, which were stolen as soon as they went up. His favorite stamp tale goes back to an early morning in July 1994, at the local post office in a small town in Idaho. Just ending a month-long drawing and painting trip, he was waiting in line to see which of his designs appeared on the newly issued Statue of Liberty stamp. From behind him someone called out to the postmaster, "Hey, Bonnie, has that new Statue of Liberty stamp come in yet?" She replied, "Yes, and it’s BEAUTIFUL!" In Tom’s words, "You can imagine what that felt like to me, the designer of the stamp. I stayed and autographed stamps, glowing in my personal 15 minutes of fame."

Among his many designs for the Postal Service are the Liberty Bell Forever® stamp, 60 stamps for the Flags of Our Nation series that began in 2008, and Monarch (2010), Baltimore Checkerspot (2012), and Spicebush Swallowtail (2013), three butterfly-themed stamps intended for large greeting card envelopes.