'Coastal Scene, Morotai'. A well-executed watercolour on paper (an impressive 274 × 397 mm) mounted on cardboard and captioned on the original attached mat (external dimensions 405 × 505 mm). The painting (featuring tents and simply-constructed dwellings nestled among palm trees), is in fine condition; the mat has a thin light tidemark along the bottom left-hand margin

[Morotai]

Beschreibung

The artist is unidentified, but he was possibly attached to No. 9 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF (9 RSU). The Australian War Memorial website states that in 1945 three artists already serving with the RAAF were seconded to the RAAF War History Section as artists - Harold Freedman (1915-1999), Max Newton (1919-1975), and Eric Thake (1904-1982) - but they may be excluded as possibilities. According to the Operations Record Book of 9 RSU (in the National Archives of Australia), an advance party arrived at Morotai on 31 January 1945, with the main party and equipment following in mid-March. The Spitfire Association website adds: '457 Squadron, as part of the 1st Tactical Air Force . was deployed to Morotai in the Indies in early 1945. Beginning on the 10th February 1945, operations continued at a high intensity for the next three months. Then the Squadron relocated again, commencing operations from the island of Labuan, on the Borneo coast, on the 19th June, primarily in support of the Australian land campaign in British North Borneo. It mounted its last operational sorties on 13 August, two days before the Japanese surrender'. The painting would appear to be contemporary. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 100999

Bibliografische Details

Titel: 'Coastal Scene, Morotai'. A well-executed ...