Aviation art print showing the
Spitfires of 433 (Canadian) Squadron by Robert Taylor. Aviation art print
available from Cranston Fine Arts, published by Universal Publishing.
The name Robert Taylor has been synonymous with aviation art over a quarter of a century. His paintings of aircraft, more than those of any other artist, have helped popularise a genre which at the start of this remarkable artist's career had little recognition in the world of fine art. When he burst upon the scene in the mid-1970s his vibrant, expansive approach to the subject was a revelation. His paintings immediately caught the imagination of enthusiasts and collectors alike . He became an instant success. As a boy, Robert seemed always to have a pencil in his hand. Aware of his natural gift from an early age, he never considered a career beyond art, and with unwavering focus, set out to achieve his goal. Leaving school at fifteen, he has never worked outside the world of art. After two years at the Bath School of Art he landed a job as an apprentice picture framer with an art gallery in Bath, the city where Robert has lived and worked all his life. Already competent with
water-colours the young apprentice took every opportunity to study the works of other artists and, after trying his hand at oils, quickly determined he could paint to the same standard as much of the art it was his job to frame. Soon the gallery was selling his paintings, and the owner, recognising Roberts talent, promoted him to the busy picture-restoring department. Here, he repaired and restored all manner of paintings and drawings, the expertise he developed becoming the foundation of his career as a professional artist. Picture restoration is an exacting skill, requiring the ability to emulate the techniques of other painters so as to render the damaged area of the work undetectable. After a decade of diligent application, Robert became one of the most capable picture restorers outside London. Today he attributes his versatility to the years he spent painstakingly working on the paintings of others artists. After fifteen years at the gallery, by chance he was introduced to Pat Barnard, whose military publishing business happened also to be located in the city of Bath. When offered the chance to become a full-time painter, Robert leapt at the opportunity. Within a few months of becoming a professional artist, he saw his first works in print. Roberts early career was devoted to maritime paintings, and he achieved early success with his prints of naval subjects, one of his admirers being Lord Louis
Mountbatten. He exhibited successfully at the Royal Society of Marine Artists in London and soon his popularity attracted the attention of the media. Following a major feature on his work in a leading national daily newspaper he was invited to appear in a BBC Television
programme. This led to a string of commissions for the Fleet Air Arm Museum who, understandably, wanted aircraft in their maritime paintings. It was the start of Roberts career as an aviation artist. Fascinated since childhood by the big, powerful machines that man has invented, switching from one type of hardware to another has never troubled him. Being an artist of the old school, Robert tackled the subject of painting aircraft with the same gusto as with his large, action-packed maritime pictures - big compositions supported by powerful and dramatic skies, painted on large canvases. It was a formula new to the aviation art genre, at the time not used to such sweeping canvases, but one that came naturally to an artist whose approach appeared to have origins in an earlier classical period. Roberts aviation paintings are instantly
recognisable. He somehow manages to convey all the technical detail of aviation in a traditional and painterly style, reminiscent of the Old Masters. With uncanny ability, he is able to recreate scenes from the past with a carefully rehearsed realism that few other artists ever manage to achieve. This is partly due to his prodigious research but also his attention to detail: Not for him shiny new factory-fresh aircraft looking like museum specimens. His trade mark, flying machines that are battle-scarred, worse for wear, with dings down the fuselage, chips and dents along the leading edges of wings, oil stains trailing from engine cowlings, paintwork faded with dust and grime; his planes are real! Roberts aviation works have drawn crowds in the international arena since the early 1980s. He has exhibited throughout the US and Canada, Australia, Japan and in Europe. His one-man exhibition at the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC was hailed as the most popular art exhibition ever held there. His paintings hang in many of the worlds great aviation museums, adorn boardrooms, offices and homes, and his limited edition prints are avidly collected all around the world. A family man with strong Christian values, Robert devotes most of what little spare time he has to his home life. Married to Mary for thirty five years, they have five children, all now grown up. Neither fame nor fortune has turned his head. He is the same easy-going, gentle character he was when setting out on his painting career all those years ago, but now with a confidence that comes with the knowledge that he has mastered his profession.
Eagle Squadron Scramble by Robert Taylor
An outstanding painting commemorating the intrepid 240 American air men who volunteered to fly with the R.A.F. in their early struggle against the Luftwaffe before the U.S.A. joined the war. Taylors painting vibrated with the roar of the Spitfires Merlin engines as they Scramble into action. Goodson later became a 4th Fighter Group Ace.
Item Code : DHM2091
Eagle Squadron Scramble by Robert Taylor - Editions Available
Fearless and effective in battle, no matter what the odds, Stanford-Tuck achieved a magnificent 29 aerial victories by 1942 when he was shot down by groundfire over Northern France. Here Bob Stanford-Tuck brings down an enemy aircraft over the port of Dunkirk early in 1940.
Item Code : DHM2177
Victory over Dunkirk by Robert Taylor. - Editions Available
Pilot Officer John Bisley of 126 Squadron in combat with Me 109s from JG-53 during one of the intense aerial air battles over Valetta in April 1942. Between the summer of 1940 and the end of 1942, Malta became one of the most bombed places on earth. The RAFs desperate fight to retain control of the diminutive Mediterranean island, and the defiant courage of the people of Malta, is one of the epic stories of World War Two.
Item Code : RT0003
Malta - George Cross by Robert Taylor. - Editions Available
A Battle of Britain Spitfire from 610 Squadron takes on a Me109 from I./JG3 in a head-on attack high over the south coast port of Dover, in the late morning of 10 July 1940.
Item Code : DHM2278
The Battle for Britain by Robert Taylor. - Editions Available
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Fighter Edition. Signed limited edition of 400 prints, with four signatures. Full Item Details
The legendary Wing Leader Douglas Bader high above the south coast of England, flying his beloved Mark Va Spitfire. Baders inspired leadership spawned some of World War IIs greatest fighter leaders- Johnnie Johnson, Denis Crowley-Milling, Cocky Dundas and many others.
Item Code : DHM2131
Bader Legend by Robert Taylor - Editions Available
Spitfires Over St Michaels Mount by Robert Taylor.
Robert has chosen to show a Spitfire in the Battle of Britain colours of No 41 Squadron for his romantic portrayal of a Spitfire over St Michaels Mount, just off the coast of Cornwall – where the southwest corner of the British Isles meets the mighty Atlantic. This famous and historic landmark dating back to the Iron Age is steeped in folklore and legend. The castle of St Michaels Mount, perched atop a great granite rock that rises majestically out of the sea in Mounts Bay, for centuries made a tempting site for fighting forces. Here Robert cleverly uses this historic fort to provide a symbolic backdrop to a wonderful study of one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built.
Item Code : DHM2593
Spitfires Over St Michaels Mount by Robert Taylor. - Editions Available
On April 25th 1945, the RAF despatched over 300 Lancasters to attack The Eagles Nest, Hitlers private mountain top castle at Berchstegaden. It was a symbolic raid, for the war was almost over, but it seemed appropriate that, after almost six years of continual combat, crews of the Royal Air Force should be allowed this almost final gesture of the air war in Europe. After the Spitfires and Hurricanes of Hugh Dowdings Fighter Command had won the Battle of Britain, and gained vital air supremacy, Arthur Harris Bomber Forces were able to mount the systematic devastation of Germanys mighty war machine, which in turn paved the way for the D-Day invasion, and the final liberation of Nazi dominated Europe. The Lancaster had become the mainstay of RAF Bomber Command, and its crews were typically representative of the men who had fought the six year aerial campaign in Europe. Every one a volunteer, they came from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, and many Europ.........
Bobby Oxspring in his 66 Squadron Spitfire destroys an ME109 of JF/53 Ace of Spades Group, in a high level attack at 30,000 feet above Dover, 18th September 1940.
Item Code : DHM2084
Angels Three Zero by Robert Taylor - Editions Available
Royal Air Force and Royal Navy fighter aircrews flew combat throughout the six long years of World War Two. At the outbreak of war in 1939 four RAF Hurricane squadrons and two equipped with Gladiators went immediately to France where in short time New Zealander Cobber Kain became the first Allied Ace of the war. In April 1940 Hurricanes and Gladiators saw in action in Norway, when Rhodesian Caesar Hull of 263 Squadron became the second air Ace. By the fall of France the new Spitfire joined in the great air battles over the Channel as the British Expeditionary Force evacuated Dunkirk. Bob Stanford -Tuck, Douglas Bader, Peter Townsend, Sailor Malan, and many other great Aces gained their first victories, but with German forces massing on the French coast, the invasion of Britain looked imminent. Only RAF Fighter Command stood in Hitlers way. By July, the most famous of all air battles had begun. The next three months, under glorious summer skies, saw the most decisive and continual aeri.........
The Spitfires of 54 Squadron, quickly scrambled from nearby Hornchurch, clash with the Me109s from 1./JG51 over Kent. Below, Me110s from KPRG210 are about to receive unwelcome attention as the rest of the Spitfires hurtle down upon them and in the distance, a group of Hurricanes rip through a dense formation of Do17s from KG76 as they struggle back to France. What clouds there are will be unlikely to give much sanctuary and, for the onlookers on the ground far below, the skies will soon be filled with weaving trails of smoke and debris. For nearly a week the Luftwaffe had thrown everything they had into the attack on southern England in order to annihilate RAF Fighter Command, in preparation for Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain. And, heavily outnumbered, the young RAF Spitfire and Hurricane pilots of Fighter Command had so far repelled them, at a cost. But on Sunday 18 August 1940, the Germans launched the heaviest formations of aircraft seen in the battle so far. This .........
