Steven Spurrier Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

A modern illustration by American artist Ray Quigley depicting two men inside of a church.

A portait of the first Allied airship to perform a bombing raid from the sky by a celebrated artist whose work hung on the Titanic. Watercolor and ink on heavy wove watercolor paper, 10 5/8 x 15 inches (270 x 380 mm). Signed in black watercolor in the lower right image area. In very good condition with minor surface soiling on the verso. Titled "Verdun" in pencil on the verso in the artist's hand. Adhered on the verso to matboard at the extreme margins with non archival tape. Presented handsomely in a simple, period maple frame. Titled, dated, inscribed and initialed by the artist on a label on the frame back. Born in Cambridge in 1898 and educated at Southsea School of Art, Norman Wilkinson is known for his graphic art, specifically his British Railway poster images, and also for something quite incredible; Wilkinson revolutionized the art of naval camouflage. Having been assigned to submarine patrols in Dardanelles, Gallipoli, and Gibraltar during WWI as a member of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, Wilkinson was deeply troubled by the unprecedented success the German submarine fleet had torpedoing British ships. He hoped to find a solution to this gaping vulnerability, and in a lightning bolt moment, he had an epiphany that would change everything. Wilkinson says in his autobiography, A Brush With Life (Seeley, 1969), that he realized a ship could be painted to hide its shape against the sea and sky. In his own words, Wilkinson states that the hull of a ship could be camouflaged "not for low visibility, but in such a way as to break up her form and thus confuse a submarine officer as to the course on which she was heading." After some preliminary testing, the theory Wilkinson called "dazzle camouflage" was accepted by British Admiralty and Wilkinson was placed in charge of the naval camouflage unit. The unit, which was headquartered in the basement of the Royal Academy of Arts, consisted of Wilkinson and about two dozen "camoufleurs;" they were artists, students, model makers and consultants, including a zoologist. The dazzle schemes were tested on models and then distributed to artists who were stationed at the docks, where the ships would be painted. At the end of the war Wilkinson was formally declared the inventor of dazzle camouflage and awarded for his contribution. Wilkinson went on to enjoy a long and celebrated career as a painter of maritime scenes, naval vessels, and warships. He served as the president of the Royal Institute of Painter in Water Colours (RI) from 1936 until 1963 (having been elected a member in 1906); he was elected Honourable Marine Painter to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1919, and he was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Royal Society of Marine Artists, and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. In 1918 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and a Commander of the Order (CBE) in 1948. In January 1920 he was appointed knight (chevalier) of the Belgian Order of the Crown. Among the many notable points of interest regarding Wilkinson's career is that his painting Plymouth Harbour, which was commissioned by Cunard White Star Lines for the first class smoking room of the RMS Titanic, was lost at sea when it perished with the ship. Wilkinson had also created a comparable painting entitled The Approach to the New World, which hung in the same location on the Titanic's sister ship, the RMS Olympic...

Ex Libris 1982, paper, ink, gouache, 17,5х13 cm Information about artist: Gunārs Vīndedzis (1918 - 1991) - cartoonist, illustrator. Born in a fami...

Titled "The faraway forest", this artwork created by Frank Girard, utilizes pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylics, and colored pencils on 400g/m2 neutral white paper. It remai...

French School 19th Century Episode of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, a cantonment of soldiers during the siege of Paris Pen and brown ink on paper 15 x 23 cm Annotated on the lower...

Mikhail Chemiakin (b. 1943) “Ukrainian Cossacks”, 1981 Watercolor, ink on paper 29.5 × 29.5 cm Signed lower right A vivid and theatrical work by the internationally acclaimed Russia...

English School, 18th century Pen and black ink with gray wash on cream laid paper, 9 1/4 x 5 inches (238 x132 mm). 1/4 inch repaired loss, top center, to the left of the figure’s h...

Titled "The cold wind in the pine trees", this artwork created by Frank Girard, utilizes pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylics, and colored pencils on 400g/m2 neutral white pa...

Robin Cole's (US based) "When They Bloom" is an original, handmade ink and charcoal drawing that depicts two grey monochrome artichokes beginning to b...

Titled "The remote", this artwork created by Frank Girard, utilizes pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylics, and colored pencils on 400g/m2 neutral white paper. It remains unfra...

An early Devonshire landscape, ex-collection West Collection of British Watercolors & the Fine Art Society, London. Circa 1800 Ink and brown wash on paper, 7 1/8 x 10 1/4 inches (...

Named "My House by the River", this drawing by the masterful artist Frank Girard was created with Chinese ink, pigments, and watercolors on Arches p...