8th Air Force Pilot's Portrait.

[AAF_Collection]

I bought this quite recently and it has yet to arrive,the pics are the sellers. Unfortunately there is no ID and as far as I know it is unsigned. The seller is from the Syracuse New York area and said the painting came from an auction. It's a long shot but if anyone should recognise this Officer I wold love to ID him!.

I will probably have the painting cleaned and the flaking areas restored at some point.

Matt.

[Dirk]

Very nice! i think these 20th century painted military portraits are way under valued and yet make a unique backdrop to display a collection.....

[renfield]

It is a very nice painting. What makes you think he flew with the 8th? Men who flew in many other numbered Air Forces could have the same ribbon rack.

[AAF_Collection]

It is a very nice painting. What makes you think he flew with the 8th? Men who flew in many other numbered Air Forces could have the same ribbon rack.

You are quite right,that is a mistaken assumption on my part. I had been looking at the SSI and it's obviously not 9th or 12th Air Force,it could be 8th,15th or a standard AAF patch,though if so the wing is rather curved,though of course this depends on how accurately the artist depicted the patch!.

 

I'm hoping that once I have it there may be some notation or a signature,though even if there isn't I'm happy to have it!.

 

Matt.

[Sabrejet]

That's a very well executed portrait Matt. It'll look "the biz" once framed and behind glass. Hope you get to find out a little more about the sitter!

[AAF_Collection]

Thanks Ian!. I love original art produced during the war,I have a couple more examples from the 8th Air Force which I'll post soon. Here's a link to an interesting site about one suce artist whose style is rather similar to the painting I bought http://portraitsofwar.wordpress.com/tag/wwii-388th/

[Sabrejet]

Thanks Ian!. I love original art produced during the war,I have a couple more examples from the 8th Air Force which I'll post soon. Here's a link to an interesting site about one suce artist whose style is rather similar to the painting I bought http://portraitsofwa...tag/wwii-388th/

 

 

Thanks Matt...an interesting link.

[gauthieb3sxz]

Glad to see you won this wonderful piece of wartime art. I am "portraitsofwar" and would love to see what details you can see when the painting arrives. As you already know, I've been researching the 388th artist seen in my blog posts.

 

http://portraitsofwar.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/388th-bomb-group-artist-in-england-1944-alva-v-alegre/

[renfield]

Matt, I hope I did not come across as a jerk. I should have asked if there was info leading to you thinking it was an 8th pilot. Sorry about the way I worded the question. It is a great item and any collector would be proud to display it.

Steve

[AAF_Collection]

Steve,absolutely no apology necessary! there was nothing wrong with your question,and you're quite right there is nothing to say with any certainty which of the ETO Air Forces this officer belonged to.

 

Gauthieb3sxz,thanks I did wonder if Portraits of War might be a member here . I'll be sure to add some more detailed photos once the picture arrives. Do you think it could be by Alva Alegre? the style looks similar to me but I'm not sure. Do you know of other surviving examples of Alegre's wartime work apart from the portrait you have?.

 

Matt.

[BEAST]

If it is not signed, does the style of artist provide a clue? Is there a difference in the style of the 1940's American artist compared to a British, French or German artist? This isn't going to help identify his outfit, but I think it would be interesting if you could identify it to having been painted overseas.

[gauthieb3sxz]

It does resemble Alva's work but I can't be 100% certain. From what I can tell, Alva signed most of his work. Please send along closer shots of the details when it arrives and we can work from there.

 

I've seen photos of two other examples of his work and have tracked down some of his post-war material. He lived quite the life!

[gauthieb3sxz]

[AAF_Collection]

Well the painting arrived,and after looking at it under different lights I can't find a signature,however it is rather dirty.

The stretcher is interesting,it was made by a company in Long Island,NY. The seller I bought the portrait from was in Schenectady, New York. At first glance the fact the stretcher is American made could suggest the portrait was painted in the U.S.,however the sitters ribbons(if accurate) don't indicate he had completed a combat tour in the ETO and then returned home,due to the lack of OLC's on his Air Medal and campaign stars on the ETO ribbon.

On closer inspection the canvas has obviously been tacked onto another stretcher while it was being painted,as there are holes at the corners top and bottom. Although only conjecture I feel this could point to it having been painted in the ETO and then rolled and sent home,and later either the sitter,or perhaps more likely his family have purchased a stretcher and had the portrait framed.

Gauthieb3sxz I would be grateful for any thoughts you might have about the possibility this could be by Alva.

[AAF_Collection]

.

[Sabrejet]

A nicely executed portrait Matt. Are you going to go the extra mile and get it professionally cleaned and framed?

[AAF_Collection]

A nicely executed portrait Matt. Are you going to go the extra mile and get it professionally cleaned and framed?

Definitely Ian...when funds permit!. It has obviously been framed at some time in the past.

[Goosenheimer]

Nice portrait thanks for posting it. It looks similar to the 388th artist's works.

 

He was sent in the springtime of 1943 from Casper Army Air Base where he served on a CCTS Squadron HQ staff and on the staff of the base newspaper as an artist to Ft. Belvoir to attend OCS. Apparently he did not complete OCS. He ended up as a SSG in the 388th.