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The Blond Knight by Robert Taylor. (C) - Military Art

The Blond Knight by Robert Taylor. (C)


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The Blond Knight by Robert Taylor. (C)

It is a record likely to stand for all time, Erich Hartmann's tally of 352 victories is more than any other pilot in history. Posted to JG52 over Russia in August 1942 his new Kommodore, Dieter Hrabak, placed the novice pilot under the guidance of Paule Rossman, one of the unit's most experienced and respected Aces. However, during his very first combat Hartmann became so disorientated that he got lost in cloud and ran out of fuel. His undoubted skill as a pilot enabled him to survive the inevitable crash-landing, but a few days later and just minutes after scoring his first ever victory, he was shot down - again crash-landing. This time he only just escaped from his burning aircraft before it exploded. Any other new pilot might have succumbed but Hartmann was made of sterner stuff and , with Rossman's help and guidance, it was not long before everyone in JG52 realised that he possessed exceptional skill. By the summer of 1943 the Blond Knight and his colleagues were flying up to six missions a day and having now perfected his technique, it was unusual for him to finish a day without a victory. Never claiming to be an expert marksman, his approach, which took nerves of steel and great flying skills, was to get as close to his enemy as possible before opening fire at the last minute. Often flying head on, the risks of collision and damage were great - of the sixteen times Hartmann was brought down, eight were as a result of flying into the debris of his victim! Hartmann's 352 victories were achieved with JG52 - all except one. It happened during a brief two week spell at the beginning of February 1945 when the top Ace was placed in temporary command of I./JG53. His new unit were based in Hungary where German Army Group South was in bitter retreat and the fighting was as tough and relentless as ever. The Blond Knightportrays Erich Hartmann climbing out of his Bf109 G-6 at Weszperem's snow-covered airfield after returning from another arduous mission leading Stab I./JG53 with whom, on 4th February he downed a Yak-9. It was his 337th victory.
AMAZING VALUE! - The value of the signatures on this item is in excess of the price of the print itself!
Item Code : DHM6539CThe Blond Knight by Robert Taylor. (C) - This Edition
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
PRESENTATIONHartmann Tribute edition of 10 prints.

Supplied with a mounted original drawing signed by four addition pilots, and matted to include the signatures of three more Luftwaffe Aces, including Erich Hartmann.
Paper size 32 inches x 24 inches (83cm x 61cm) Image size 25.5 inches x 16 inches (65cm x 42cm) Pflaum, Hubert-Ludwig (signed in person)
Schlossstein, Karl-Fritz (signed in person)
Rall, Gunther (companion print)
Boesch, Oscar (companion print)
Marquardt, Heinz (companion print)
Broch, Hugo (companion print)
Haibock, Josef (matted on companion print)
Losigkeit, Fritz (matted on companion print)
Hartmann, Erich (matted on companion print)
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £450
SOLD
OUT
NOT
AVAILABLE
All prices on our website are displayed in British Pounds Sterling



Other editions of this item : The Blond Knight by Robert Taylor.DHM6539
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
PRINTSigned limited edition of 375 prints. Paper size 32 inches x 24 inches (83cm x 61cm) Image size 25.5 inches x 16 inches (65cm x 42cm) Pflaum, Hubert-Ludwig (signed in person)
Schlossstein, Karl-Fritz (signed in person)
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £60
£20 Off!Now : £215.00VIEW EDITION...
ARTIST
PROOF
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Paper size 32 inches x 24 inches (83cm x 61cm) Image size 25.5 inches x 16 inches (65cm x 42cm) Pflaum, Hubert-Ludwig (signed in person)
Schlossstein, Karl-Fritz (signed in person)
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £60
£20 Off!Now : £325.00VIEW EDITION...
REMARQUELimited edition of 15 remarques.

SOLD OUT.
Paper size 32 inches x 24 inches (83cm x 61cm) Image size 25.5 inches x 16 inches (65cm x 42cm) Pflaum, Hubert-Ludwig (signed in person)
Schlossstein, Karl-Fritz (signed in person)
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £60
SOLD
OUT
VIEW EDITION...
REMARQUELimited edition of 10 double remarques.

SOLD OUT.
Paper size 32 inches x 24 inches (83cm x 61cm) Image size 25.5 inches x 16 inches (65cm x 42cm) Pflaum, Hubert-Ludwig (signed in person)
Schlossstein, Karl-Fritz (signed in person)
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £60
SOLD
OUT
VIEW EDITION...
General descriptions of types of editions :




Signatures on this item
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo


The signature of Feldwebel Oscar Boesch (deceased)

Feldwebel Oscar Boesch (deceased)
*Signature Value : £45

Already a pilot of gliders, he joined the Luftwaffe in 1943 and after training was eventually posted to JG3. He volunteered for the Sturmstaffel 1 unit, a specialist anti-bomber unit flying modified Fw190s with better armour. After just a few days, his unit was merged into a unit of JG3. He scored his first victory on 29th April 1944 claiming a Flying Fortress, immediately followed by another of the bombers targetting Berlin. By November he had claimed another five bombers. The rest of his 18 victories were scored against Russian aircraft, except for an RAF Spitfire on 1st January 1945. In the final days of the war he survived a mid-air collision with a Russian fighter. He died in May 2004.


The signature of General Gunther Rall (deceased)

General Gunther Rall (deceased)
*Signature Value : £75

A young pilot with III/JG52 at the outbreak of war. He quickly demonstrated his natural ability and leadership qualities, scoring his first air victory early in the Battle of Britain, and by July 1940 was leading 8/JG52. After transfer to the Eastern Front his air victories mounted at an astonishing rate. A crash hospitalised him but within nine months he was back in the cockpit, and, when commanding III/JG52, gained the Wings 500th victory. Gunther fought throughout the war to become the 3rd highest Ace in history with 275 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Gunther Rall was born on March 10, 1918 in the small Bavarian town of Gaggenau, Baden. Immersing himself in Boy Scout activities during the difficult economic times in Germany following WW 1, Rall finished school in 1936 and joined the German Army. Influenced by a friend, who was a young officer in the Luftwaffe, Rall entered pilots school in 1938. His initial posting was with JG52. He attained his first aerial victory during the Battle of France in May of 1940. During the Battle of Britain JG52 absorbed many casualties, and Rall was promoted to Squadron Commander at the young age of 22. With his fair-hair and smooth complexion the young officer looked even younger than his years. But behind this pleasant exterior was a fierce competitor with the heart of a tiger. Later, Ralls squadron would support the attack on Crete, followed by deployment to the Southern Sector on the Eastern Front. Ralls victory totals began to mount. Following his 37 th victory, GiInther was himself shot down. He was lucky to survive the crash, but with a badly broken back he would spend most of the next year in various hospitals. In Vienna at the University Hospital he would meet his future wife, Hertha. Miraculously, Rall recovered and returned to the Luftwaffe in August of 1942. By November his score exceeded 100 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves to accompany the Knights Cross he was awarded only weeks earlier. As the War progressed against Russia, Rall began to encounter ever more experienced Soviet pilots flying better performing aircraft. Despite this fact, and being shot down several more times himself, Ralls victory tally kept rising. By March of 1944 the ace had attained 273 aerial victories. With the War now going badly for Germany, Rall was transferred to the Western Front. He was able to attain only two more victories against the swarms of Allied bombers and fighter escorts which now pounded Germany every day and night. In May of 1944 Rall was shot down by a P-47. Losing his thumb in the battle he remained out of combat until later in 1944. Ralls final assignments included flying 190Ds as Kornmodore of JG300, and flying the Me-262 jet. Ralls 275 aerial victories (attained on less than 700 combat sorties) make him the third highest scoring ace of all time. If not for the down time suffered as a result of his broken back, Rall might have actually equaled or exceeded Erich Hartmanns alltime record of 352 aerial victories. Rall was not much for socializing during the War. He was a fierce competitor with a businessmans attitude about flying. He was an excellent marksman, and possibly the best deflection shot expert of the War. He continued to fly with the Bundeslufwaffe following the War, serving as its Commander-In Chief in 1970-74. Sadly Gunther Rall died on 4th October 2009.


Generalmajor Josef Haibock
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)

Flew Me109s & Fw190s in the West & East with JG26, JG52 & JG3 scoring 77 victories.


The signature of Hauptmann Karl-Fritz Schlossstein (deceased)

Hauptmann Karl-Fritz Schlossstein (deceased)
*Signature Value : £35

Karl-Fritz Schlossstein initially flew Me110 heavy destroyers with JG5, when th Group first arrived in Norway in 1942 to provide air cover for the convoys supplying the rapidly increasing German garrison in that country. He commanded 13(Z)/JG5 from the summer of 1942 to June 1943, and then converted to fly Me109s. Later in Norway he flew the Me410 Hornet with ZG76, but finished the war with JG54 Greenhearts flying Fw190s in the Defence of the Reich. He died on 18th July 2017.


The signature of Leutnant Hugo Broch

Leutnant Hugo Broch
*Signature Value : £55

Vital to all fighter units are the pilots who make such superb wingmen that their leaders are loath to part with them. Hugo Broch was one such wingman. Having joined VI./JG54 in January he flew first with Horst Adameit (166 victories), and later with Bazi Sterr (130 victories), but soon demonstrated his own skill in combat. By the end of 1944 he had lifted his personal score to 71 victories. One of JG54s great Fw190 Aces, Hugo Broch saw combat on the Eastern and Baltic Fronts, and completed the war having flown 324 combat missions, and claiming 81 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross.
Major Fritz Losigkeit (deceased)
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)

Died 14th January 1994


The signature of Oberfeldwebel Heinz Marquardt (deceased)

Oberfeldwebel Heinz Marquardt (deceased)
*Signature Value : £60

In late 1941 Heinz Marquardt was with a training squadron south of Paris. In August 1943 he was posted to join IV./JG51 in Russia, achieving his first victory two months later. Shot down eight times, he once achieved twelve victories in a single day. Awarded the Knight's Cross in November 1944, he flew a total of 320 missions, and scored 121 victories. Sadly, Heinz Marquardt died 19th December 2003, aged 80.


The signature of Oberst Erich Hartmann (deceased)

Oberst Erich Hartmann (deceased)
*Signature Value : £85 (matted)

Erich Hartmann started his career as Paule Rossmans wingman, and it was obvious that here was a very special pilot. Promoted Staffelkapitan of 7/JG52 in July 1943, he was shot down and taken prisoner for four hours before escaping. In September he took over 9/JG52. In March 1944 he reached the 200 victory mark. He later le 4/JG52, then briefly I/JG52, and lastly Gruppenkommandeur of I/JG52. Hartmann scored a total of 352 victories, more than any other pilot in history, and was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Erich Hartmann is the top-scoring fighter pilot in history. During WWII he shot down the equivalent of almost 15 Allied squadrons in aerial combat. In some 850 aerial combats he shot down 352 Allied planes and was shot down himself 16 times. He was never wounded. Hartmanns mother taught him to fly at age 14 and in 1942 at age 20 he was flying Me109s on the Eastern front. His first combat mission was disastrous. He spoiled his leaders attack by going for the kill himself, then mistook his leaders Me109 for a Russian fighter and fled in panic. Were it not for super ace Walter Krupinski believing in Hartmanns abilities he might well have had his flying career ended. Krupinskis tutoring coupled with the fact that Hartmann was a crack shot, turned him around. He scored his first victory on November 5th 1942 and by September 1943 he had completed 300 missions with 95 victories to his credit. In August 1944 Hartmann was awarded the Diamonds to his Knights Cross - Germanys highest decoration and one that was awarded to only 27 German militar ypersonnel. Hitler made the award personally. Before the award ceremony he was demanded to hand over his sidearm before meeting with Hitler. Hartmann told the generals that if Hitler could not trust his front line officers, he could stuff his Diamonds. After a brief confusion he was allowed to carry his pistol. Hartmanns success resulted from the lessons he learned from Krupinski - do not fire until your enemys plane fills your windscreen. That resulted in a sure kill with a minimum amount of ammunition expended. Almost every kill Hartmann made was a near collision. After the war Hartmann surrendered to the Americans, who turned him over to the Russians. He was singled out for especially brutal treatment and was illegally held by the Russians until 1955 when Chansellor Adenaur personally visited Moscow and arranged for his release. The Russians had used every persuasive device known to convert Hartmann to Communism and get him to join the DDR airforce. Upon his return to Germany, his friend and fellow ace, Walter Krupinski, urged him to join the new German Air Force with other old friends such as Barkhorn and Hrabak. Since he felt he was too old to begin a new career, he did. He was given refresher training in the United States and was selected to command the Richthofen Wing in the new German Air Force, the first fighter wing to be rebuilt since the war. He filled that and other jobs in the new Luftwaffe with great distinction until his retirement. He died 20th September 1993.


Stabsgefreiter Hubert-Ludwig Pflaum
*Signature Value : £25

After joining the Luftwaffe and completing his flight training, he originally flew Heinkel 111 bombers with IV./KG 27 Boelcke. Towards the end of the war, however, he transferred to train as a fighter pilot, and after qualifying joined II./JG53 PikAs where he flew Bf109s with 6 Staffel in the Defence of the Reich.
Artist Details : Robert Taylor
Click here for a full list of all artwork by Robert Taylor


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.

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