Welcome to National Life's Art Collection Archive...

If you have read books, magazines, or even textbooks about colonial America, you have probably seen some of National Life's original artwork. Seven decades after the first original piece was commissioned, the company still routinely grants permission for its works to be used in a wide variety of publications.

The first professional artist commissioned was ROY F. HEINRICH (1881 - 1943) who created about 100 original drawings between 1934 and his death. His historical works appeared in National Life advertisements in such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Time, Newsweek, Life and National Geographic.

Heinrich's efforts were continued when historical illustrator/artist HERBERT M. STOOPS (1887 - 1948) was commissioned. Stoops was a well-known artist who had illustrated books for Rudyard Kipling and other authors.

Upon Stoops death, AMOS SEWELL (1901 - 1983) was commissioned to continue the tradition. Like his predecessors, Sewell was widely known for his artistry and ability to accurately portray historic events. Stoops researched and drew for National Life until 1950.

After Sewell's departure, a series of independent artists were contracted to continue the historical art series. Among these artists were M. BENT and CHARLES KERINS.

National Life' s main lobby is dominated by a 1960 mural by PAUL SAMPLE. Sample was commissioned to paint a mural that accurately portrayed the history of Vermont and National Life from 1620 when the French explorer Samuel de Champlain first passed through the Green Mountains. The mural ends in 1960 with tourists depicted taking a ski lesson.

Although the company does not actively collect art for investment or decorative purposes, it does have a number of oil and other paintings that were commissioned over the years. These commissioned works depict our first insured (DANIEL BALDWIN) and his wife who was the beneficiary of Policy #1. Recent appraisals have revealed the identities of these artists as: C.L. MACNELLY, WILLIAM F. DRAPER, MARION SHARP, EUGENE SPEICHER, THOMAS WATERMAN WOOD, JULIUS D. KATZIEFF, JOHN WHITE ALLEN SCOTT, STAN MARC WRIGHT, VERA BECKERHOFF, and S. SWETERLITSCH.

In 1980, National Life commissioned ROBERT W. WHITNEY to create four seasonal watercolors depicting traditional Vermont and northern New England scenes. Whitney had done extensive artwork for the 1980 winter Olympics at Lake Placid.