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Norman Wilkinson
The Isle of Skye Ferry, 20th Century Travel Poster Original Oil

Name: The Isle of Skye Ferry, 20th Century Travel Poster Original Oil
Brand: Norman Wilkinson
Price: 28031.25 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Norman Wilkinson CBE PRI 1878 - 1971 The Isle of Skye Ferry Oil on board on canvas Signed lower left Image Size: 20.75 x 20.75 inches Norman Wilkinson was a British artist in oil, watercolour and dry point, usually of marine subjects. An illustrator and poster artist, he also made an important contribution in both World Wars in the field of camouflage, namely dazzle camouflage. Educated at Berkhamsted School and St Paul's Cathedral choir school, he had little training in art but largely developed his style through his maritime career. In 1898 he started contributing to The Illustrated London News and The Illustrated Mail which was the start of a long association. In Paris in 1899 he studied figure painting but was already set upon working on marines. With his love of the sea he travelled extensively including visits to Spain, Germany, Italy, Malta, Greece, Aden, Bahamas, United States, Canada, and Brazil. He was elected R.I. in 1906. During World War I he served at the Dardanelles, on submarine patrol in the Mediterranean, and on a minesweeper in the English Channel. One of his paintings was on the Titanic when it sank. During World War I, while serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, he was assigned to submarine patrols in the Dardanelles, Gallipoli and Gibraltar, and, beginning in 1917, to a minesweeping operation at HMNB Devonport. In April 1917, German submarines (called U-boats) achieved unprecedented success in torpedo attacks on British ships, sinking nearly eight per day. In his autobiography, Wilkinson remembers the moment when, in a flash of insight, he arrived at what he thought would be a way to respond to the submarine threat (Wilkinson 1969, p. 79). He decided that, since it was all but impossible to hide a ship on the ocean (if nothing else, the smoke from its smokestacks would give it away), a far more productive question would be: How can a ship be made to be more difficult to aim at from a distance through a periscope? In his own words, he decided that a ship should be painted "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" (Wilkinson 1969, p. 79). After initial testing, Wilkinson's plan was adopted by the British Admiralty, and he was placed in charge of a naval camouflage unit, housed in basement studios at the Royal Academy of Arts. There, he and about two dozen associate artists and art students (camoufleurs, model makers, and construction plan preparators) devised dazzle camouflage schemes, applied them to miniature models, tested the models (using experienced sea observers), and prepared construction diagrams that were used by other artists at the docks (one of whom was Vorticist artist Edward Wadsworth) in painting the actual ships. In early 1918 Wilkinson was assigned to Washington, D.C. for a month, where he served as a consultant to the U.S. Navy, in connection with its establishment of a comparable unit (headed by Harold Van Buskirk, Everett Warner, and Loyd A. Jones)(Hartcup 1980; Behrens 2002, 2009; Wilkinson 1969). After World War I, there was some contention about who had originated dazzle painting. When Wilkinson applied for credit to the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors, he was challenged by several others. At the end of a legal procedure, he was formally declared the inventor and awarded monetary compensation (Wilkinson 1969, pp. 94–95). As a poster designer, Wilkinson reached his highest artistic level. His posters were well-planned and executed in broad tones of colour with a skilful use of black to strengthen the design. He made his first poster (of the Irish steamer crossing from Holyhead to Dublin) in 1905. It was the first to illustrate the product as just one element of a broader landscape and its revolutionary design was a major influence in the development of the pictorial poster. Wilkinson went on to organise the celebrated commissioning of poster designs from members of the Royal Academy for the London Midland and Scottish Railway company in the 1920s. Through the dissemination of his posters to railway stations, schools, and government offices throughout the world, he became one of the most familiar artists in the British Empire. He was elected Hon. Marine Painter to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1919, P.R.I. in 1937. He was knighted in 1948 and appointed a CBE in 1948. Wilkinson created a painting titled "The Approach to Plymouth Harbour" for the smoking room of the RMS Titanic, which sank with the ship. Wilkinson is one of the finest marine painters of this century. Prolific and long-lived, Norman Wilkinson led an active and adventurous life until his death in 1971. A regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, he was president of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. His work can be found in many public and private collections listed below. He painted a record of the major sea battles of the Second World War and presented the series of 54 paintings to the nation; they are kept at the National Maritime Museum. Produced his first poster in 1905! He brought the simplicity and truth to poster design. Nothing like it had been seen before. He said he was the “Father & Mother” of the artistic poster on English railway stations. He persuaded 17 Royal Academy artists to design posters. He raised the status of the poster painter and the quality of the art poster. A contemporary of William Frith and he played a notable part in both World Wars. In WWII he was an Honorary Air Commodore and inspector of Camouflage. Museums & Galleries Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Abbey Gallery, Royal Society of Artists, Birmingham, Beaux Arts Gallery, Imperial War Museum, National Maritime Museum, National Railway Museum and the Ulster Museum. Literature Wilkinson, N. (1969), “A Brush with Life”. London: Seeley Service. Wilkinson, N. (1915) “The Dardanelles”, London

Creator:

Norman Wilkinson (1878 - 1971, British)

Dimensions:

Height: 22.05 in (56 cm)Width: 22.05 in (56 cm)

More Editions & Sizes:

1 of 1Price: $28,031

Medium:

Board,Oil

Period:

20th Century

Condition:

Gallery Location:

London, GB

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU5247338432

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Norman Wilkinson

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 (elected 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 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, for the Titanic's sister ship, the RMS Olympic. This work may be seen in the 1958 film A Night to Remember in scenes aboard the Titanic, where is served as the stand-in for Plymouth Harbor.