
Several very cool murals adorn a curved interior wall at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. I particularly like this one. It was painted beneath the older and much larger March of Transportation mural.
I’m not sure if it has an official title–it’s described as a pre-World War I scenic mural…depicting an imaginary airfield in France, about the time of the first great aerial races and daring exhibitions… It was painted in March, 1984 by New Zealand pilot and artist-designer Jon Francis Petrie.
In the mural, words painted on an observation tower indicate: ROUEN Aérodrome La Grande Exposition d’AVIATION 1910.
I’ve tried to search for biographical info on the artist, but to no avail, except that he was born in 1940. Perhaps someone who is knowledgeable can leave a comment.




…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Feel free to share!
Hi! I don’t know artist Jon F Petrie personally but my parents and grandparents knew him. He painted a mural in my grandparents house which is in middle of nowhere, North Carolina. My mom was recently cleaning out some boxes in storage and came across some prints of his artwork from the 80s and she said that he had moved up from Florida and lived with my grandparents while painting the mural. She gave me the prints and Ive been trying to find out more about him online. That’s how I stumbled across your blog post. I cant find much about him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m afraid I don’t know too much, either. Thanks for your interesting and informative comment!
LikeLike