About This Stamp
From Bailey Island on the coast of Maine to the rugged cliffs of Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park in Hawai‘i, the O Beautiful Forever® stamps showcase the extraordinary natural beauty found in the United States.
Each of the 20 stamps on the sheet features a photograph that helps illustrate one of five phrases from the famous first verse of “America the Beautiful”: “Spacious Skies,” “Waves of Grain,” “Mountain Majesties,” “The Fruited Plain,” and “Sea to Shining Sea.”
The stamps include four national parks, one national seashore, state parks, parks managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. They highlight some of the nation's hidden gems, such as wheat fields in Wisconsin and Montana, and the lush, fertile landscape surrounding Orinda, California. They also celebrate the country's ephemeral wonders, including a double rainbow arching over a Kansas field, the aurora borealis lighting up Three Fingers Mountain in Washington, and a quietly stunning spring sunset over the green hills of Livermore, California.
First published as a poem on July 4, 1895, “America the Beautiful” was written by poet Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929) and set to the music of “Materna,” a melody composed by Samuel Augustus Ward (1848–1903). Considered by many to be our unofficial national anthem, the song consists of four verses, each punctuated by the anthemic cry “America! America!” Today it remains one of the country's most popular patriotic songs.
Art director Ethel Kessler designed the pane using existing photographs.
The O Beautiful stamps were issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Designer, and Typographer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.