WHAT:          Press preview of “Fly Marines! The Centennial of Marine Corps Aviation: 1912-2012” exhibition

WHEN:   Wednesday, Jan. 11
                 9:30 a.m.: Breakfast
                 10:15 a.m.: Remarks
                 10:30 a.m.: Gallery tour

WHERE:      Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W.

WHO:      J.R. “Jack” Dailey, director of the museum
                 Lin Ezell, director of the National Museum of the Marine Corps
                 Carolyn Russo, museum specialist

The National Air and Space Museum will host a press preview for "Fly Marines! The Centennial of Marine Corps Aviation: 1912-2012" Jan. 11. The temporary exhibition is presented in partnership with the National Museum of the Marine Corps; it opens to the public Jan. 14 and closes Jan. 6, 2013, to coincide with the national observance of the centennial. Some of the artists will be available for one-on-one interviews after the guided tour of the exhibit.

The Marine Corps Art Program was started in 1942. Its mission: to keep Americans informed about what “their Marines” were doing at home and overseas. Managed by the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the collection has grown to include more than 350 artists and more than 5,500 works of art. The strength of the collection rests on the authentic and unvarnished focus these works have on people under the most trying of circumstances—war.

"Fly Marines!" presents a broad selection of works from this collection that document the history of Marine aviation. The exhibition also includes several works and artifacts from the collections of the National Air and Space Museum.

Interested media must RSVP to larai@si.edu or mullenb@si.edu.