Posted by B on July 7, 2008
Some time ago, I saw this notice at my school. The lede is copied here:
“The Mary Condon Hodgson Art Gallery will host paintings by Richard Harris from June 7-July 8. Titled ‘Wings of Honor II,’ his paintings are influenced by the world of military aviation.”
With school out for the summer and gas prices the way they are, I’ve been a bit of home-body. But I finally got over to the gallery today and checked out the 20+ paintings. Getting good pix of paintings is always a challenge, and today was no exception. I had to stand on the side to avoid flash and reflection issues in the gallery.
So without further adieu, here they are. The gallery here includes two Luftwaffe jets. Cool.
Posted in Grumman Hornet, Helldiver, Luftwaffe, ME-109, b-17, flying fortress, p-51, paintings | Tagged: Richard Harris, WW2 aviation | No Comments »
Posted by B on September 14, 2007
Scrolling through the archives of the Naval Historical Center, I revisited their collection of period artwork this evening. And it is, in a word, awesome. Many paintings of conflict are somberly painted, with good reason. But there are others, like this painting by Lawrence Beall-Smith, that show color in interesting ways. Having grown up watching shows like Victory at Sea, and viewing thousands of images from the period in black and white, I’m conditioned to look with nuances with that narrow color range.
But this! The blues of this painting are striking. Notice, too, the men at various stages of work: one pilot perhaps showing a recent engagement with his hands, the men in blue sitting on the ground talking, others “colors” at work on various aircraft. It’s an interesting mix.
The catalog of Smith’s work at the NHC is here. Be sure to check them out. The text from the page is copied below.
Task Force Hornets
Lawrence Beall-Smith #13
Oil on board, 1943
88-159-KA
The operations island is a grim gray redoubt against the sky as this aircraft carrier steams behind her task force screen with a swarm of fighters ready on the flight deck. Planes of a fighter squadron stand at Fly One, the take-off spot. Behind them, in order, will be the dive-bombers and the torpedo bombers. Meanwhile, as signal pennants snap from the truck, handling crews and pilots await the orders which will send these Grumman fighters snarling into the air.
Posted in Grumman Hornet, Lawrence Beall-Smith, aircraft carriers, ariel combat, paintings | No Comments »
