United Airlines has given life to the dreams of one female artist, putting her ideas and inspiration as the livery on one of their Boeing 757s.

What are the details?

Local New Jersey artist Corinne Antonelli recently won a contest by United to design a new unique livery for one of the airlines Boeing 757s. The contest 'Her Art Here' was designed to promote female participation in the arts. As outlined in the United press release, 51% of all artists are women but only 13% have artwork on display in the United States.

The contest was open to all women artists, as well as those who identify as a woman, including cisgender, transgender, woman-aligned or non-binary. The only other restriction is that they had to reside in the United States. United asked artists to design a mural that represented the cross country journey from New York to California that the aircraft performs every day. 

United
United's beautifully painted 757s will likely be back when demand returns. Photo: United Airlines

After a long and hard contest, United chose one winning New York design and one California Design, and worked with the artists to bring them to life.

"It still feels like I am dreaming! I have seen the design on paper countless times, but now to see it, at its full scale in the physical world, there are no words to describe how proud I feel. My goal as an artist is to have people experience my art rather than just view it in a gallery, therefore having it displayed on an airplane has certainly been the most rewarding feeling I've ever experienced in my art career," noted Antonelli who won the New York Design, who lives in Washington, NJ and is studying illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. Unlike a normal canvas that you would see in an art gallery, the 'canvas' of an airplane will fly '1.6 million miles a year and perform 476 cross-country trips, exposing the artwork to countless fans and newcomers alike.  "The Boeing 757 features iconic imagery from the two states including the historic Red Mill in New Jersey, the New York City skyline and the Statue of Liberty, as well as a globe signaling United Airlines worldwide connectivity. " - United The press release finished with a teaser that United will reveal the winner for their California themed livery soon. United

United's Boeing 757 fleet

United is one of the last airlines in the world to still be using and operating Boeing 757s on a regular basis. Currently, the carrier has 75 757s in service (54 757-200s and 21 757-200s) with two scheduled for retirement. Those plans, however, have been delayed as their planned replacement aircraft, the Boeing 737 MAX, has yet to have its grounding lifted.

As the United Boeing 757 fleet is so large and they play a critical role in trans-continent journeys, it is likely Ms.Antonellis artwork will be flying for many years to come.

What do you think of the artwork? Let us know in the comments.