The University of Wisconsin-Superior Alumni Association recently received a collection of donated artworks from graduate and Air Force veteran Carlin John Kielcheski.

Kielcheski grew up in Phillips, Wisconsin, and attended Wisconsin State College, Superior, [what is now UW-Superior] from 1952 to 1958, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in art education and a master’s in educational administration. He boxed welterweight in 1955 and was president of the Iota Delta Chi fraternity and junior class president. 

In 1957, Kielcheski married Shirley Paulson of Clear Lake, Wisconsin, a classmate majoring in elementary education. 

Kielcheski earned a Master of Fine Arts at Colorado College in 1967 and a doctorate in art education from Arizona State University in 1973. He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1980. Kielcheski is the author of “Short Rounds from a Sketch Pad: A Vietnam Vet’s Visual Voice,” published in 2020. He resides in Colorado Springs.

About the Paintings

Kielcheski entered the Air Force in 1958 and was assigned to the Air Force Academy in 1960. 

In 1968 he volunteered to go to Saigon, Vietnam, as a combat artist. Since no such position existed, he deployed as an information officer to the 7th Air Force Headquarters in Saigon, during which time he participated in 23 combat missions.  

Kielcheski’s seven Mission Paintings document the reality of guerilla war with aircraft. The original paintings are now part of the permanent Air Force Art Collection, which documents the story of the Air and Space Forces through art.

A collection of paintings are currently displayed on the second floor of UW-Superior’s Jim Dan Hill Library. The artwork was reproduced by Kielcheski for himself and donated to the UW-Superior Alumni Association.

The Jim Dan Hill Library, located at 907 N. 19th St., is open 7:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 5 to 10 p.m. on Sunday. The library is closed on Saturday.