12 Original Watercolors of Mostly Aviation Subjects by Owles, Alfred

A suite of 12 original watercolors by the well-known illustrator, Alfred Owles. These are being sold together since they are obviously a series intended originally to illustrate a calendar. Whether or not such a calendar was ever issued has been impossible to discover, despite extended research. The paintings are signed by Owles, but not dated. They are probably from the 1950s or 60s. Owles was famous for his aviation and WWII illustrations, which appeared as illustrations for short stories and articles, as well as on covers, of numerous magazines through the 1940s and on into the 60s. He also had several one-man shows and he taught at an art school in San Francisco. He died in 1978. His aviation illustrations are most highly prized. He did a series for Standard Oil Co. that they used in their magazine ads. He was also an early aerial photographer (WWI), which gave him a powerful sense of aircraft in action and great verisimilitude in his artwork. The theme of these 12 large paintings is primarily aviation firsts, including first trans-Atlantic flight (The Spirit of St. Louis is depicted flying over a choppy sea), first airmail delivery, first balloon ascent, and others. Three of the paintings are not directly aviation. What is apparently the 'October' image is of what one presumes to be the Santa Marie (Columbus's flagship when he - ahem - discovered America, as they say), the Mayflower (for November), and December's image is Jesus preaching in a temple with doves flying above Him. (It would have been more aviation-themed if Owles had painted Santa Claus and his sleigh, but perhaps he lacked my sense of humor…..) Although there is no publishing history for these that I can discover, there are registration marks in the margins, which indicate that they may have been so used. A couple of paintings have a little soil in the image, something that could be cleaned by an expert. They are various sizes, from about 19 X 20" to about 22 x 25", in watercolor on artboard. Additional photos are available upon request. . Original Artwork. Very Good Condition. Illus. by Alfred Owles . Stored.