Commander Eric Erskine Campbell Tufnell RN.
English ( b.1888 - d.1979 ).
HMS Newcastle In Sydney Harbour, December 1956.
UK Squadron Attending 1956 Olympics, Melbourne, Australia.
Watercolour On Paper. Signed.
Image size 9.8 inches x 14.2 inches ( 25cm x 36cm ).
Frame size 20.3 inches x 24.2 inches ( 51.5cm x 61.5cm ).
UPDATE: Now providing free delivery to Australia on this painting as well as our usual free delivery to UK, Europe, USA and Canada.
Available for sale from Big Sky Fine Art in the English county of Dorset, this original painting is by Commander Eric Erskine Campbell Tufnell RN and dates from 1956.
The painting is presented and supplied in a sympathetic and contrasting contemporary frame to suit the subject colouration (which is shown in these photographs) , and behind premium anti-reflective glass with UV Protection greater than 70% (Artglass AR 70™).
This vintage watercolour is in superb condition. It wants for nothing and is supplied ready
... to hang and display.
The watercolour is signed lower right and titled lower left.
Commander Eric Erskine Campbell Tufnell RN was a respected painter of ships in watercolour.
He was born on 9th September 1888 at Bangalore in India. He joined HMS Britannia as a cadet in 1903 and went to sea as a midshipman in 1904. He served in submarines from 1909-1917 and then in anti-submarine work until 1919. He commanded several small ships in the Eastern Mediterranean and served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1926-30. In 1938 he was recalled to the Navy for meteorological work in Columbo and left Ceylon in 1942, soon after the Japanese attack. He then took up an appointment to the Naval Information Services, where he served until his retirement in 1946.
Although he received no formal art training, his knowledge of the seas and skies proved of great help to him in his painting. His water-colours have often been on show at the Parker Gallery in London. He lived his later years at Farnham in Surrey and was still actively painting in his late 80s.
This painting brings together both a legendary warship and a highly experienced Naval Officer, who between them saw a very significant amount of historic military activity in the mid-twentieth century.
This exquisite watercolour painting depicts the ship HMS Newcastle in Sydney Harbour in December 1956. It portrays a magnificent view of the entire starboard side of the ship in front of the iconic Sydney Harbour steel arch through bridge, nicknamed the “coat hanger”, which spans Sydney Harbour from the central business district to the North Shore.
The significance of this image is that HMS Newcastle had been part of a squadron attending the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. She was present in Sydney Harbour at this time because she was refuelling there before travelling back to Singapore.
The precision and detail on this painting makes it appear almost as a photograph, and it is clear that it has been created by an artist who has a thorough understanding of his subject. For Commander Tufnell, this work was a tribute to a ship that was practically a legend.
Further information on this vessel is on the painting''s page on bigskyfineart.com
For a full biography of this artist please see his listing on www.bigskyfineart.com .
We provide a professional shipping and delivery service which is free to customers in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada. For this particular painting we will provide free delivery to Australia.
We can also provide other worldwide delivery on any purchase. Please contact us for further information.
Contact us by phone on +44 (0) 1305 581426 or email art@bigskyfineart.com .
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA1109720
Dateline of this antique is 1950
Height is 51.5cm (20.3inches)Width is 61.5cm (24.2inches)Depth is 2.5cm (1.0inches)
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