ARTIST: Charles Lundgren (New York, Connecticut, 1911 - 1988)
NAME: Sail Ship - Tovarisch
YEAR: 1981
MEDIUM: oil on board
CONDITION: Very good. No visible inpaint under UV light.
SIGHT SIZE: 25 x 27 inches / 63 x 68 cm
FRAME SIZE: unframed
SIGNATURE: lower right
NOTE: This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the USSR 15k Tovarisch stamp issued September 18, 1981. Through the ages, man with his ingenuity and his courage has striven to fashion new and better sailing ships in order to conquer the vast unknowns of the sea. The majestic Tovarisch is in itself one of the finest tributes ever to man's centuries-old shipbuilding achievements. This sail-clad beauty, with long, graceful lines and three tall masts, was built in 1933 in Hamburg, Germany by Blahm and Voss as a training vessel for the German Navy. A heavily canvassed bark of 226 feet and 1,309 tons, she was christened the Gorch Fock and designed to reach and maintain speeds of up to 16 knots with over 6,100 square feet of sail. At the close of World War II she was sunk by Nazi Germany near Swinemunde; though shortly thereafter, she was raised and claimed as war reparation by the Soviet Union. In 1951 after extensive repairs and refitting, she resumed her voyages on the high seas, only this time with future Soviet officers on board and with a new name ... the Tovarisch(Russian for "Comrade"). Many of today's Soviet sea captains began as fledgling cadets aboard this famous sailing ship. Thus, in keeping with grand tradition, the mighty Tovarisch continues to ply the waves and train new generations of young cadets in the ways of the sea for the Soviet Merchant Marine.
PROVENANCE: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
NAME VARIANTS: Charles Lurdgren
CATEGORY: antique vintage painting
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BIOGRAPHY:
Fine marine painting is much more than the illustration of ship and water. It is the evocation of salt and tar, wind and sail, the light, the movement of water ... the affinity of man and sea. As an experienced yachtsman, historian of the sea, as well as an acclaimed marine artist, Charles Lundgren captured this complex harmony in his paintings.Looking every bit the part of the ancient mariner, himself, Lundgren's love and respect for deep water was reflected in every painting. Combined with his consummate skill as an artist, this resulted in marine painting at its finest. Study at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (Parsons), the Paris School of Fine and Applied Art, as well as schools in Germany and Italy, plus extensive travel throughout Europe and Africa enabled Lundgren to develop his talents and perfect his technique.One art critic praised him with these words: "He is, in my eyes, much more than a painter of the sea. He is a believer in it. A historian of the days when men reached new continents by sail and stars alone." Lundgren's painting skills were sought by individuals - he often painted "portraits" of the boats and ships owned by the rich and the famous - as well as museums and companies.Not suprisingly, his works were acquired for such collections of Huntington Hartford, J.P. Morgan, Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Wayne, Pegeen Fitzgerald, Cornelius Walsh, George Jensen and Eric Sloane.