A striking example of Paul Grossmann’s mature work as a military portrait artist — the same enlisted airman-artist who produced cachet covers at Selfridge Field in the 1930s, here decades later with a sweeping pair of multi-portrait plates spanning WWI through the Space Age. Each subject is rendered in Grossmann’s distinctive pencil-and-wash style alongside their insignia or decorations, and is signed directly beneath their portrait.
Signed by:
Douglas Campbell · WWI ace, 94th Aero Sq. | John F. Whiteley · RAF | Haywood S. Hansell Jr. · XX Bomber Command | Bram van der Stok · Dutch RAF ace, Great Escape escapee | Chesley G. Peterson · Eagle Squadron ace | Marion E. Carl · USMC ace & test pilot | James H. Howard · Medal of Honor, sole ETO fighter pilot recipient | Matthew B. Ridgway · CG 82nd Airborne, later Army Chief of Staff | Roland de la Poype · French Normandie-Niémen ace | Bryce Poe II · USAF General | Walter M. Schirra Jr. · Mercury, Gemini & Apollo astronaut | Randy Cunningham · Vietnam’s first ace |
Waclaw Makowski · Polish Air Force | James H. Doolittle · Medal of Honor, Doolittle Raid leader | José Larios · Spanish Civil War aviator | Eino Ilmari Juutilainen · Finland’s top ace | Robert M. Gibb · RAF | Leon W. Johnson · Medal of Honor, Ploie?ti raid | Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire · Victoria Cross, RAF | David McCampbell · U.S. Navy’s top WWII ace | Adolf Galland · German Luftwaffe General & ace | Charles E. Yeager · first to break the sound barrier | Gerald O. Young · Medal of Honor, Vietnam | Brewster H. Shaw Jr. · Space Shuttle astronaut
Fine condition overall, with light toning and scattered spotting consistent with age. An exceptionally visual and historically rich assembly uniting many of the 20th century’s most celebrated aviators and military leaders across multiple eras. Two plates from the original three-plate series.
With One of a Kind Collectibles LOA