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Henry W. Koehler died on December 24, 2018, at his home in Southampton. He was 91.
The son of C. Walter Koehler and Julia McGuffin Koehler, he was born in Louisville, Kentucky on February 2, 1927. After serving in the Coast Guard, he enrolled at Yale University (Class of 1950), where he was the art director of the yearbook, the Yale Record, and the Yale Literary magazine. As an illustrator his work appeared in Vogue, Town & Country, The New Yorker, and on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In the late 1950s, through the Society of Illustrators, he recorded U.S. Air Force operations around the world, including the airlift of Hungarian refugees.
A renowned sports painter, he had more than 70 one-man shows, including an exhibition at the Parrish Art Museum in 1970 (of which he was later named an honorary director). His work was collected by President Kennedy, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Windsor, and Ralph Lauren. In 1974, he designed the U.S. postage stamp marking the 100th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby. His work was featured on posters for the Hampton Classic Horse Show in 1979, 1985, 1993, and 2009. Always stylish, he made the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List in 2017, at the age of 90.
Audrey, his wife of 44 years, died in 2008. He is survived by his brother, Robert of Louisville; his two stepsons, Alexander Mason of Baltimore and Southampton, and Anthony Mason of Manhattan; and five step-grandchildren, Taylor, Christopher, Emily, Olivia and Nicholas.
A memorial service is being planned for a future date. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY 11976.
on Dec 31, 2018