|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
|
Aviation Art Prints  Aviation Artists  Robert Taylor |
[UP] - Ivan Berryman - Robert Taylor - Stan Stokes - Nicolas Trudgian - David Pentland - Philip West - Gerald Coulson - Graeme Lothian - Anthony Saunders - Keith Woodock - Robert Tomlin - Michael Rondot - Brian Bateman - Barry Price - Geoff Lea - Keith Aspinall - John Young - M A Kinnear - Michael Turner - Robin Smith - More Artists - Artist Lists by Title |
| More Pages : Royal Air Force - Luftwaffe - US Air Force - Civilian Aircraft - Modern Aircraft - More Aircraft |
| Robert Taylor |
|
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. Sadly he passed away in January 2024.
|
| Navigation | |
| Page 11 of 13 | Previous .. Page 11 .. Next |
| Robert Taylor Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Art |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Navigation | |
| Page 11 of 13 | Previous .. Page 11 .. Next |
| Text for the above items : |
Eagle Attack by Robert Taylor. ADLERTAG (EAGLE DAY) - that was Hitlers code name for the start of the Luftwaffes great and decisive aerial offensive that was intended to bring the RAF to its knees, clear the skies of Spitfires and Hurricanes above the South Coast of England and prepare the way for the 250,000 German troops standing in readiness to cross the Channel. Like fighter pilots of any airforce the Me109 Geschwaders of the Luftwaffe were made up almost entirely of young men who simply wanted to fly. Primed and ready these combat-experienced pilots were eager for battle. The disadvantage of fighting at the extremity of their range - often allowing them no more than 10 minutes of actual combat - was balanced by well tried battle tactics, great leadership and undisputed courage. Aldertag saw twelve hours of almost continuous battle, and the uniquely talented aviation artist Robert Taylor takes up the story on this momentous 13th August 1940 when the Luftwaffe staged their most concentrated attacks. A swarm of Me109's peel off to attack a bunch of Spitfires which have dived out of the sun upon a large formation of HE 111 bombers. Already the lead pair of Me109s are bringing their guns to bear and moments later the two pilots in the foreground will flick-roll their fighters and follow into attack. |
Eagles High by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Eagles out of the Sun by Robert Taylor. Supplied with companion print Night Hunters. |
Eagles Over the Rhine by Robert Taylor. P-51 Mustangs of the 353rd Fighter Group make a low-level run over towns and villages along the Rhine. |
Early Morning Arrival by Robert Taylor. V-RA is seen on final approach to RAF Colerne early on the morning of 6 June 1944. |
Launch Against the Bismarck by Robert Taylor. Late in the day on May 26, 1941, in deteriorating weather, 15 Fairey Swordfish biplanes launched from the heaving deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. Each was armed with a single torpedo, its task to halt the escape of the battleship Bismarck. The navy pilots knew they must succeed before dark: by the following morning the German battleship would reach the protection of Luftwaffe aircraft based in France. Contending with turbulence and sea spray, one by one the Swordfish made their attack, running in just feet above the waves. The frail biplanes were met with a barrage of murderous gunfire, Bismarck bringing all possible armament to bear. Attempting to avoid the in-coming attack, the 42,000 ton battleship was in a high-speed turn when a torpedo from a Number 2 subflight Swordfish struck her steering gear. The explosion irreparably jammed her rudder over 12 degrees sealing the fate of the mighty warship. Unable to steer, all she could do was await the dawn and the arrival of the British Home Fleet. |
Phantom Strike by Robert Taylor. Supplied with companion print Wolfpack Leader. |
Flight of Eagles by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Fourth Fighter Patrol by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
G for George by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Gathering of Eagles by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Gathering Storm by Robert Taylor. During the early part of 1943 the B-17s of the American Eighth Air Force were paying regular visits to the occupied ports on the west coast of France. It was here at Brest, St Nazaire and Lorient that the U-boats were serviced and made ready for their deadly trade in the Atlantic. The area was heavily defended by flak batteries, but it was the notorious fighter interceptors of JG-2 that the bomber crews feared most. Equipped with the outstanding and still comparatively new Fw190, the Luftwaffe pilots achieved startling successes against the still inexperienced USAAF units. As the Allied bomber offensive got properly underway in 1943 the Fw190 quickly established a fearsome reputation, and became the mainstay of the German defence. This beautifully proportioned, aesthetically appealing single seat fighter immediately displayed the hallmarks of a thoroughbred, and within six months of its operational debut in 1941 was causing consternation amongst the RAF fighter squadrons based in southern England. The Fw190 could outperform the Spitfire in every manoeuvre except the turn, and could even leave the new MkIX Spitfires standing in a half-roll and dive. It came close to perfection by the fighter aircraft standards of the day. The painting depicts a group of Fw190A-3 and Fw190A-4 fighters as they climb out over Theville to intercept an incoming armada of B-17 Fortresses en-route to bomb the submarine pens at Lorient. Pilots in their high visibility cockpits gun their massive BMW radial engines as they power upwards through the turbulent air. Within minutes drop tanks will be jettisoned and battle joined. Spoiling for a fight, they present the B-17s with an awesome reception committee. |
Hartmann Tribute by Robert Taylor. As the days lengthened with the coming of spring, and clear blue skies beckoned, an eager young flyer wrestled with the difficult task of surviving his first hectic missions as a novice fighter pilot. North of the Caucasus Mountains, the landscape was unfamiliar to the raw recruit, and in the maelstrom of the dog-fight it was easy for an inexperienced pilot to become quickly and hopelessly lost. Below, a hostile territory waited to claim anybody breaking the rules of combat. Like most novice fighter pilots, this fresh-faced, blond-headed lad needed some luck and, not without some effort and determination on his part, he got it. During his first combat he became totally disorientated, ran out of fuel but, largely due to his piloting skill, survived the inevitable crash-landing. Then, a few days later having just achieved his first aerial victory, he was immediately shot down - again crash-landing and escaping his burning aircraft moments before it blew up. It was an initiation that would have demoralised most aspiring fighter pilots, but not this man. This man was made of sterner stuff. This man would go on to become the highest-scoring fighter Ace in history. This man was Erich Hartmann. |
Reach for the Skies by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Helping Hand by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
High Patrol by Robert Taylor. No text for this item |
Home at Dusk by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Home Run by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
Hurricane Force by Robert Taylor. Sunday 15th September, 1940 - a date that will live forever in military history. The day the Luftwaffe made its final, massive effort to defeat the RAF, and pave the way for Hitler's invasion of England. The day the tremendous air battles between the RAF and the Luftwaffe came to a climax - when every single man and machine in Fighter Command climbed into battle. The day Churchill was told: 'There are no reserves!' 'Hurricane Force' puts us right into the midst of the Battle of Britain, some 12,000 feet over London, with the Hurricanes of 257 Squadron as they tear into a mass of Heinkel III Bombers and escorting Me109s. In the foreground a Hurricane pilot reels his machine around having knocked out one of the enemy while his wingman targets another. In the background and below, the fighting is everywhere. The whole sky is embroiled in a mass of aerial warfare. In the thick of the heaviest fighting, the brute force quality of the go-anywhere do-anything Hurricane is seen at its best, its pilots wreaking havoc amongst the massed formations of enemy raiders. The huge aerial contests of the Battle of Britain inevitably developed into a series of individual fights: one-on-one duels, squadron versus squadron. The British pilots, their confidence and morale on the upsurge from recent successes, had the fight of their lives. By the afternoon of 18th September the massed attacks by the Luftwaffe had been routed, and one by one, as the British returned to their bases, the significance of their victory began to dawn upon the sweat-soaked exhilarated pilots of the RAF. They had won the Battle of Britain! |
Hurricane Scramble by Robert Taylor. One secondary market print available - excellent condition. SOLD |
JV44 by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT. |
|
Contact Details |
|
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
|
|
|
