Large Frame Print 'April Morning: France, 1918' (Date Unknown) By Frank Wootton
 
The aviation art print 'April Morning' by Frank Wootton depicts a Sopwith Camel and, beyond, several S.E. 5a aircraft, the two most successful British fighter aircraft of WWI. Above them, returning from a night raid, fly two Handley Page 0/400 bombers of the RAF.
 
Two of the gentlemen depicted in the Crossley staff car are Sir Hugh Trenchard and General Smuts.
 
In 1918, following the suggestion of Lieutentant General Jan Smuts' Cabinet Committee, the British government merged the Royal Flying Corps with the Royal Naval Air Service to create the first independent air force in the world. Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard, to whom the task was entrusted, became the Chief of the Air Staff for the joint service, the Royal Air Force - better known as the RAF.
 
On that April morning which saw the birth of the RAF, the end of WWI on November 11, 1918 was still a long way off. The German air force would remain a threat to the very end. The RAF, however, faced the future with conviction and ability, establishing for all time their proud and prized traditions - proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that air power was vital to the safety of King and country.
 
This Limited Edition out of 850 has been signed by the artist and THREE famous Marshal's of the RAF:
 
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir PETER HARDING GCB
Air Chief Marshal Sir MICHAEL GRAYDON GCB CBE
Air Chief Marshal Sir JOHN THOMSON GCB CBE AFC
 
The late Frank Wootton can be credited with giving aviation art a bold new direction, transforming the genre from illustration to fine art. A gifted young artist when WWII broke out, Wootton volunteered for the Royal Air Force, but was invited by the commander-in-chief of the Allied Air Forces to accept a special duty commission as official war artist to the R.A.F. and Royal Canadian Air Force. Thus, between 1939 and 1945, Wootton painted the conflict from the front lines of France to remote airstrips in Southeast Asia. His aerial scenes brilliantly recreated the threat of enemy fire, the split- second maneuvers of fighter planes and the triumph of victory. After the war, Woottons paintings gained international recognition. His works hang in major aviation museums throughout the world, and he has painted numerous state occasions involving the R.A.F. and the Royal Family. In 1983 some fifty of his paintings were exhibited at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Following his death, Wootton remains one the aviation worlds most widely respected artists.
 
 Print No. 184/850, signed by 4 people in pencil. Including the artist
 
Measures 130 cm x 83.5 cm
 
Very Large Framed Print for sale
 
The buyer will need to arrange Courier transport due to the fragility and size of the piece.
 
Please contact the shop for an inspection.