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Aircraft carrier, with Grumman Avenger aircraft on flight deck

by Robert Emerson Curtis

Dimensions:
51 cm x 64 cm
Medium:
lithographic crayon on grey Ranberton Antique paper
Place made:
Sydney, Australia
Date:
1945
Setting:
WW II (1939-1945)

Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

Depicts an aircraft carrier, with Grumman Avenger aircraft on flight deck, Harbour Bridge in background. For two days prior to departure, she was taking aboard aircraft which had been recently repaired and serviced at a RAAF maintenance depot. They included Avengers, Hellcats, Corsairs, Seafires, and Fireflies. These were being stacked with wings folded, shoulder to shoulder on the flight deck.

  • About Robert Emerson Curtis

    Robert was born in Croydon, England in 1898. His family migrated to Australia, settling in Stanthorpe, Queensland. Both his parents and two sisters painted, and Curtis decided to study art via correspondence.

    In 1918, he moved to Brisbane where he worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for the Brisbane Mail. This work funded a trip to the United States in 1922, where Curtis studied art and undertook various commissions. Curtis returned to Australia in 1928, in time to record the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

    In 1940, Curtis gained permission from the Department of Information to depict activities in Commonwealth munition and aircraft factories. Curtis' reputation as an artist was enhanced when the Sydney Morning Herald published some of his drawings.

    In 1941, he joined the Department of Home Security, where he worked as a camouflage officer and was accredited for service with the RAAF. He was appointed Officer in Charge of Camouflage in New Guinea and seized every opportunity to record the activities of the Australian and American troops.

    In January 1945, Curtis accepted an appointment as an official war artist. He covered the civil and industrial war effort in Australia, as well as the activities of the service organisations. Much of his work depicts shipbuilding, a subject which gave him the opportunity to explore his interest in technological achievements. In these drawings, the men are dwarfed by the vessels upon which they work and yet are shown to be in control.

    The Australian War Memorial holds over two hundred works by Curtis.

    More paintings by Robert Emerson Curtis
  • About Ships and aircraft in company

    In this section a wide variety of artworks with more than one ship, submarine or aircraft are featured. When two or more naval vessels are operating together they are said to be ‘in company’.

    The diverse nature of activities, exercises and deployments undertaken by ships, submarines and aircraft of the Royal Australian Navy means that a ship may spend long periods conducting single ship operations or periodically join with large numbers of other ships for such events as a naval review or fleet entry to a port. These latter events are generally scheduled to commemorate a particular event.  During such events a prominent or royal figure will review the fleet as part of the ceremony. Throughout its history ships of the RAN have participated in major fleet entries and reviews both in Australian waters and overseas.

     

    Details of Ships in the First Fleet

    Name Class Commission Dates
    HMAS Australia Indefatigable Class 21 Jun 1913 – 12 Dec 1921
    HMAS Melbourne Town Class Light Cruiser 18 Jan 1913 – 23 Apr 1928
    HMAS Sydney Town Class Light Cruiser 26 Jun 1913 – 8 May 1928
    HMAS Encounter Challenger Class Light Cruiser 1 Jul 1912 – 1 Jan 1923
    HMAS Warrego River Class 1 Jun 1912 – 22 Jul 1919
    HMAS Parramatta River Class 10 Sep 1910 – 22 Jul 1919
    HMAS Yarra River Class 10 Sep 1910 –  30 Sep 1929

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