HMS HOOD and HMS PRINCE OF WALES v. DKM BISMARCK - Signed Limited Edition Print

Description

H
IS
M
AJESTY
’
S
S
HIPS
HOOD
AND
PRINCE OF WALES
E
NGAGED
OFF
I
CELAND
“The Final Sacrifice”
At the
B
ATTLE
OF THE
D
ENMARK
S
TRAIT
; 0600hrs 24
th
May 1941
STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION of 650 SIGNED giclee prints, signed and numbered by artist.  Image size: 24 x 12.57"; overall paper size: 32 x 20.57" (includes 4" blank cropping)
From an ORIGINAL O
IL
ON
L
INEN,
41 x 21.5” (1050mm x 550mm)
Original painting by Joseph Reindler.  Artist’s copyright May 2021
HIS MAJESTY’s BRITISH BATTLECRUISER HOOD, Captain Ralph Kerr CBE RN, the Flagship of Vice Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland CB, together with His Majesty’s Battleship PRINCE OF WALES, Captain John Catterall Leach DSO MVO RN, engaged at the Battle of the Denmark Strait.  HOOD is depicted at the instant she was engulfed in a straddle of 38cm shellfire resulting from DKM BISMARCK’s 5
th
salvo - with the signal “TWO-BLUE” for “TURN TOGETHER TWO POINTS TO PORT” still streaming and the slightest inclination of a roll to Starboard, indicating that she is just initiating her final turn.  The probable smoke from what would have been HOOD’s only salvo from Y-turret curls over and obscures the air-warning aerials further aloft at the maintopgallant mast as two last rounds of 15-inch armour-piercing ammunition are flung down range toward the enemy.  HOOD’s displacement hullform heaps tens of thousands of tonnes of seawater into mounds of foaming wake as 144,000shp are transmitted into the cold depths of the North Atlantic Ocean.  Her turbines scream as the ship’s stokers coax nearly every available knot from the complex and delicate machinery from deep within the ship.  In the seconds that followed a series of catastrophic events unfolded whereby a magazine explosion engulfed the ship.  HOOD would be lost, with a toll of 1,415 lives.  PRINCE OF WALES would continue alone in the fight, inflicting serious damage to the enemy but in doing so receiving serious damage herself.  A further 13 lives would be lost in PRINCE OF WALES during the action – with one more dying of his wounds the following day.  The time of completion of this painting marked the 80th anniversary of the event, and the combined loss of 1,429 lives from both ships.  As a mark of remembrance the work was named "The Final Sacrifice", after a line from Cecil Spring-Rice’s poem
I Vow to Thee My Country
.  The glow of the boatdeck fire on HOOD reflects a holy cross in her maintopmast & yard, giving title to the painting.
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This is an initial offering I am making from the exclusive edition of 650 signed & numbered copies of this painting, not available elsewhere.  Numbers #2 ~ #11 inclusive are for sale in this lot.  Copy #1 has already been committed (sorry about that).   Please note that this will be the only limited edition that I will make available of this painting.  Copies are priced respective of the large image size – and the first buyers will receive very low early edition numbered copies.  First buyer will receive copy #2; second buyer will receive copy #3 etc..  This is obviously a new and unseen depiction of arguably the most famous naval engagement ever fought – very painstakingly researched and executed – and never before offered.
Highest quality fine art giclee print using conservation grade lightfast inks; guaranteed not to fade for 80~100 years if properly framed and glassed (conservation glass is recommended).
These copies will hold their value.
Please note that artist's copyright strictly prohibits unauthorised reproduction of this work.  Purchase does not come with transfer of copyright.  All content contained herein this item description is also strictly artist's copyright.
Supplied unframed and rolled in a protective mailing tube.
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About me:
I am the artist who executed this work – and am not dealing with a publisher at present; thereby I am just offering these editions directly from my own eBay seller account.  We are presently based in New Zealand – although we will be relocating to the United Kingdom, for family reasons, hopefully soon when conditions permit (I am a New Zealander – my wife is a British National).   Prior to and including 2014 when I first exhibited at the former Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, I was a relative newcomer to the art world.  I was still in my twenties at that time.   Since then I have continued to practice and have enjoyed earning the patronage of collectors from around the world.  Despite maritime art having become my chosen vocation – my academic training was actually in mechanical engineering, which was prior to also obtaining a military education with the Royal Navy at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.    Although I had pursued artwork part-time while working in engineering for many years; since the events of 2020, art has become my fulltime venture.
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Any questions please ask.  Thank you for looking and have a look at my other limited editions if you get a chance.