H.M.S. Renown at Portsmouth
Etching by Frank Mason (1876-1965), signed by the artist, undated but circa 1921.
Image size: 2 3/8 x 5 1/8 inches, plus margins.
Excellent condition throughout.
This etching, deriving from a 1921 painting by Mason, shows HMS Renown leaving for India, with the Prince of Wales on board, as HMS Victory fires her last salute prior to being taken into dry dock.
Frank Henry Mason RBA, RI, RSMA was an artist best known for his maritime, shipping, coastal and harbour paintings and as a creator of art deco travel and railway posters. Mason was born 1875 at Heaton Carew, County Durham. Educated as a naval cadet, he intended to make marine engineering his career. He turned instead to art despite having no formal training in the subject apart from studies at Scarborough School of Art. During the 1914-18 War he was appointed an official shipping war artist. During the 1920s and ‘30s he designed posters for the main railway companies. From 1902 onwards he exhibited many times at the Royal Academy. His work is found in The National Maritime Museum, the Imperial War Museum and many smaller museums throughout the country. He died in 1965.
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