CANVASES

December 20, 1943, near the coast of Germany: Luftwaffe ace Franz Stigler had never seen a B-17 this damaged. My God, how are you still flying? he thought. Inside the bomber’s cockpit, the rookie American pilot, Charlie Brown, was thinking the same thing. An air battle over Bremen had shredded his bomber. Leaning forward to check an engine, a sight made Charlie’s heart skip. There, three feet from his wingtip flew a gray Bf-109. Charlie closed his eyes and opened them but the German was still there. He’s going to destroy us, Charlie concluded.

Instead, Franz did something incredible—he nodded to Charlie. In the presence of his enemy, Franz had changed. He had only become a fighter pilot to avenge his brother, a pilot killed early in the war. But there, alongside the defenseless B-17, Franz decided to break the cycle of violence, to spare the bomber and escort it out of Germany. It was a gesture Charlie would never forget. He would search the world for Franz and in 1990 they would reunite, not as former enemies but as brothers separated for 46 years.

ARTIST: John D. Shaw
AUTOGRAPHS: Hand-signed on the reverse side by John Shaw.
EDITION: 43 canvases. Includes Certificate of Authenticity.
IMAGE SIZE: 40" x 23" (sold unframed/unstetched)
SHIPPING: Ships rolled in a tube with full insurance.
PRICE: $695 + SH

October 14, 1943: Deep into Germany and with their fighter escort gone, the bomber boys of the 8th Air Force are in the fight of their lives. More than three hundred “unrelenting” Luftwaffe fighters are trying to make them do the unthinkable: to turn back.

The ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt lay ahead, it’s a crucial target, and that leaves the 8th with one option: to fight their way through the maelstrom. Jousts ensue at 23,000 feet as JG 3 ace Alfred Surau attacks in his Bf-109G. Sixty bombers will fall, including this B-17, “Wabbit-Twacks III,” of the 96th Bomb Group.

Today, “Black Thursday,” will be the costliest mission in 8th Air Force history, but in a mere six days the “Mighty Eighth” will be back in action, and within five months American bombs will rain on Berlin.

ARTIST: Gareth Hector
AUTOGRAPHS: Hand-signed on the front in fade resistant marker by "Black Thursday" B-17 pilot Roland Martin (379th BG "The Iron Maiden").
EDITION: 43 canvases (only 20 are signed by Roland!). Includes Certificate of Authenticity.
IMAGE SIZE: 40" x 23.5" (sold unframed/unstetched)
SHIPPING: Ships rolled in a tube with full insurance.
PRICE: $495 + SH

Bougainville Island, October 18, 1943: The fight was days in the making. When Pappy Boyington flew over the airfield at Kahili earlier that week, a Japanese-accented voice radioed: “Major Boyington, what is your position?”

“Right over your damn airport,” he replied, “Come up and fight!” But no enemy answered.

This day was different. With his Black Sheep in tow, Pappy issued the challenge again: “Come on up and fight, you yellow bastards!” And this time, the Japanese sent their answer, launching some fifteen aircraft. The ensuing air battle would end with the Japanese fleeing, the Black Sheep victorious, and a new page written in the legend of Pappy Boyington.

ARTIST: Gareth Hector
AUTOGRAPHS: Hand-signed by Gareth Hector.
EDITION: 25 canvases. Includes Certificate of Authenticity.
IMAGE SIZE: 40" x 23.5" (sold unframed/unstetched)
SHIPPING: Ships rolled in a tube with full insurance.
PRICE: $595 + SH

June 6, 1944, 2:10 am: From the darkened heavens, C-47s of 9th Troop Carrier Command deliver the paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne into the hellfire of Normandy’s drop zones. The Screaming Eagles, already on the ground for an hour, link up with the All American troopers near French towns like Ste. Mere Eglise. Together, they will fight in small, ad-hoc bands, sowing chaos behind the German lines. To survive the longest night of D-Day, they would become: Brothers in Arms.

ARTIST: Matt Hall
AUTOGRAPHS: Hand-signed on the reverse side by Matt Hall & D-Day paratroopers Earl McClung (depicted), Buck Compton, Don Malarkey, Ed Tipper, Ed Mauser, Brad Freeman, and Bob Noody.
EDITION: 25 canvases. Includes Certificate of Authenticity.
IMAGE SIZE: 30" x 18" (sold unframed/unstetched)
SHIPPING: Ships rolled in a tube with full insurance.
PRICE: $695 + SH

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May 7, 1945: With Göring’s champagne and Bavarian beer, the veterans of Easy Company celebrate the end of World War II in Europe. Fate could write no better ending for the paratroopers who jumped into the darkness of Normandy, slugged through the mud of Holland, and froze in the woods of Bastogne. Now, in Berchtesgaden’s storybook Alps, P-51s of the “Checkertail Clan” cap the party as the Band of Brothers enjoy the spoils of war, the beauty of peace, and a toast to the heroes who fell along the way.

ARTIST: John D. Shaw
AUTOGRAPHS: Hand-signed on the reverse side by John Shaw & Band of Brothers paratroopers "Wild Bill" Guarnere, Buck Compton, Babe Heffron (depicted), Forrest Guth, Earl McClung (depicted), Joe Lesniewski, Ed Tipper, and Brad Freeman.
EDITION: 45 canvases. Includes signed Certificate of Authenticity.
IMAGE SIZE: 32" x 19" (sold unframed/unstetched)
SHIPPING: Ships rolled in a tube with full insurance.
PRICE: $895 + SH

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