About This Stamp
The 22-cent commemorative stamp honoring Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, was issued June 14, 1985, in Quincy, Massachusetts. Postmaster General Paul N. Carlin was the principal speaker at the First Day of Issue ceremony. The stamp went on sale in post offices nationwide the following business day.
Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1744, Abigail Adams was a gifted letter writer, confidante to her husband during his long career of public service, and mother of one of the most important family dynasties in American public life. Many historians have credited her with being the first fully emancipated woman in American history.
While raising four children, acting as adviser to her husband, and maintaining the family estate, she still found time to continue her writings. Her literary works have distinguished her as one of the leading women writers of her era. Mrs. Adams died in Quincy in 1818.
The designer and typographer of the stamp was Bart Forbes of Dallas, Texas. Art director was Stevan Dohanos; modeler was Esther Porter. The gravure process was used. The stamp was issued in panes of 50.
Stamp Artist
Bart Forbes
Born in Oklahoma, Bart Forbes earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of North Carolina and continued his studies at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
In more than four decades as one of America's most successful illustrators, Forbes has created artwork for major sporting events including the Kentucky Derby, America's Cup, the Indianapolis 500, the Boston Marathon, the Olympic Games, the Westminster Dog Show, and numerous PGA tournaments. He has also created art for many of America's top magazines including TIME and Sports Illustrated. Among his many corporate clients are NBC, Exxon, Pepsi-Cola, Eastman Kodak, Lockheed, ABC, ESPN, and the National Football League. The Sports Art of Bart Forbes, a collection of many of his famous sports paintings, was published in 1998. His paintings can be found in the private collections of former President George H.W. Bush, Arnold Palmer, Pat Summerall, Tiger Woods, and Jerry Jones.
Forbes, who works from his studio near Dallas, Texas, has recently become interested in a new genre of oil painting embodying primarily landscape and still-life themes painted over richly-textured surfaces.
Forbes has designed 22 postage stamps for the United States Postal Service®, including the 1985 Abigail Adams and 1989 Lou Gehrig commemoratives, five Olympians stamps in 1990, the 1989 America the Beautiful postal cards, the 2011 Ronald Reagan stamp, and the 2016 Sarah Vaughan stamp.