Unsung Heroes

Our Story

Unsung Heroes began in 1991 as one artist’s idea to make the world a better place by painting and exhibiting larger than life portraits of real American heroes. Through his work with the FDNY’s Firefighter Cadet program, artist Jesse Gardner became an advocate for minority youth who wanted to become firefighters. As a New York City resident, Gardner sought out FDNY firefighters, painting their portraits from life in his Manhattan loft. Over the decades, his work has been shown in New York and Philadelphia galleries and in the public realm as a poster series. In 1995 Mayor Giuliani honored the artist with an award for his work with firefighters. Currently the portrait collection is housed in a gallery located in a converted 1880's Textile Mill in Philadelphia’s East Kensington neighborhood. In recent years, he has collaborated with Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program to create large scale outdoor murals honoring three Philadelphia firefighters who died in the line of duty. Gardner’s advocacy for our front line First Responders continues through the LODD portraits, exhibitions, multimedia events, and gallery talks.