About this artwork
Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. This is an example of one of his shots of an impressive cloud formation. It features the R100 airship, noted for its more oval, aerodynamic shape in comparison to the traditional Zeppelin. The R100 embarked on its maiden flight in 1929 but in 1930 it was deflated and removed from service following the crash of her sister ship, the R101, with the loss of forty-eight lives. Buckham painted the airship into the scene by hand.
Updated before 2020
-
artist:Alfred G BuckhamEnglish (1879 - 1956)
-
title:R100
-
date created:About 1920
-
materials:Silver gelatine print
-
measurements:38.50 x 46.00 cm
-
object type:
-
credit line:Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund 2008
-
accession number:PGP 197.19
-
gallery:
-
subject:
Alfred G Buckham
Alfred G Buckham
Alfred Buckham's first ambition was to be a painter, but after seeing Turner's pictures in the National Gallery, he returned home and made a bonfire of his own work. He was the first head of aerial reconnaissance for the Royal Navy in the First World War and later a captain in the Royal Naval Air...