An exhibitions of Illustrations of early 20th century Airships, Warships, Paddle Steamers, Biplanes & Flying Boats by Norman Wilkinson, Harry Price, Norman Arnold and J.M. Page. In the shop and online.

The first years of the 20th century saw great changes in transport both on land and in the air. There had long been a desire to conquer flight and competition to invent both the best airships and airplanes was strong. With this came a thirst from the public to know about the latest inventions and so a demand for artists, despite the rise of photography, to capture the latest technology or illustrate new records set. The military also saw the importance of having images and information on both their own and other countries’ machines of war and likewise made the most of enlisted men with artistic ability. The Navy had been constantly looking to improve its ships with the rise of the iron clads in the second half of the 19th century and the developments in armaments and introduction of steam turbine engines in the early 1900s. Flight was first published in 1909 as a weekly magazine, showing the speed of innovation and desire for information. Books were published, for both adults and children, on all forms of transport and the wide variety of cars, ships and aircraft, both historical and contemporary, could be discovered by collecting cigarette cards, which reached their height in the 1930s. All these publications required images and there were a number of illustrative artists ready to provide them. The art wasn’t always used, with some rejected for a number of reasons and not all of it survived. 

The four artists represented in this catalogue are just a few of a large number who fed the need for good images in this golden age. Norman Wilkinson and Harry Price had a natural affinity and inquisitiveness of the sea and ships with Wilkinson’s pictures of aircraft much harder to find. Norman Arnold was interested in other areas of creativity but his enlistment during the First World War led to him becoming an official war artist. Regrettably, we do not know enough about J.M. Page to give his introduction to producing artwork of  seaplanes and boats. The vast  majority of the images in this catalogue have notes and instructions to their backs. Sometimes they are simply descriptive of the subject and location, sometimes they give technical information or printing references. Images of labels and notes to the back of the pictures are shown to reflect this, with more on our website. All of the paintings are unframed. This catalogue is a little different to our usual fare and in fact reflects one of the reasons for the demise of campaign furniture in the early 1900s – the improvements in transport. However, many of the images capture the wonder of airships and early planes at the time and the strength of the British Navy powering through the waves. What could be more evocative than a biplane over no man’s land to illustrate the changing world of the first half of the 20th century?

Catalogue available. £ 10 + postage