Robert Grant Smith was born in 1914 in Los Angeles, and very soon developed an immediate lifelong love of aviation following Charles Lindberghs successful solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1927 in the Spirit of St. Louis. Robert Grant Smith graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic College of Engineering in Oakland in 1934 and in 1936 was hired as an configuration engineer by Northrop Aircraft, part of Douglas Aircraft. For the next two decades, he was involved in the development of all Navy combat aircraft built by Douglas and its successor, McDonnell Douglas. Smith was part of the team that designed many of the naval aircraft including the SBD Dauntless, AD Skyraider, A-3D Skywarrior, F-4D Skyray, and his favourite, the A-4D Skyhawk, It was at this time that Robert.G. Smith was begining to gain a reputation as a respected aviation artist. Robert Grant Smiths paintings and prints can be found in museums and private collections, in the wardrooms of naval vessels, on the walls of the Pentagon and countless military installations, and in congressional and corporate offices. A selection of his paintings is on permanent display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. His powerful depictions of the extraordinary American victory in the great naval battle at Midway between 4-6 June 1942 have helped to raise public awareness and appreciation of the battle that turned the tide against Japan in the Pacific War. His Midway paintings have also helped to fill an historical void caused by the absence of any photographic record of the critical minutes when the tide of the battle finally turned in Americas favour. In 1973 Robert G Smith was designated by the United States Navy Honorary Naval Aviator (number 10), a distinction previously bestowed on such notables as General James Doolittle and Admiral Hyman Rickover. In 1994, he became the first recipient of the R.G. Smith Award - named in his honor - by the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. On May 29, 2001 at the age of 87 Robert Grant Smith passed away at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.