A rare limited edition by Robert Taylor commemorating the victorious attack by the US Navy on the Japanese fleet at Midway.

The date: 4th June, 1942; the time: 1010 hours; the place 200 miles north north west of Midway Island, above the Pacific Ocean. Twenty thousand feet below, the Japanese destroyer Arashi is streaming at speed towards Admiral Nagumo’s carrier fleet just visible in the distance. Inadvertently she points the way to the searching pilots of the American Pacific fleet. Robert Taylor chooses this precise moment to portray the SPD Dauntless just before these legendary aircraft made the attack that turned the tide of the war in the pacific. Within the next few minutes the crews of this valiant dive-bomber will deliver the single most devastating and significant attack of World War 2 and win one of the truly decisive battles in history.

The decks of the carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu, Japan's elite striking force, are packed with aircraft. Re-fuelling, re-arming and final preparations for a second and decisive attack on Midway are almost complete. The large carriers are turning into the wind, their decks ranged for take-off, and the noise is deafening. All eyes are on the flight deck.

Suddenly, above the roar of the engines the high pitched scream of dive-bombers is heard. Plummeting down almost vertically come the dive-bombers of the Pacific Fleet, flown by the most battle-experienced pilots in the American Navy at the time. With the complete element of surprise, in the next few searing minutes they will devastate Admiral Nagumo’s carriers, eliminating half of the Japanese carrier force, bringing about the beginning of the end for the ill-starred fortunes of the Rising Sun.

In a stunning aviation panorama Robert Taylor brings to life the event that wrote the name of Dauntless aircraft forever into the history books. All the detail of this lovely aeroplane looms large on the canvas. With the exquisitely painted clouds, their shadows dancing across the Pacific far below, the painting excludes an air of peaceful serenity: a calm before the storm.

Each print in Robert Taylor's Limited Edition, Midway - The Turning Of The Tide, is signed by 4 pilots who took part in the Battle of Midway:
Lt. Commander Dick Best
Captain Edward L. Anderson
Commander Don L. Ely
Rear Admiral Wilbur E. Roberts.

We are selling this print on behalf of one of our collectors.

Condition: this print has some soft handling kinks in the right hand border area - mainly in the white border but a couple extending into the tinted border. They are not immediately obvious when looking at the print at a normal viewing angle and distance, but you can see them if you hold the print up and look along the edge - they would be hidden by framing. In all other respects the print is in top condition. It was purchased from ourselves when released in 1989 and has been stored dark and flat since and has never been framed - the image area has perfect 'as new' colours. It is supplied with the original Certificate of Authenticity.

Normal price for a perfect example of this rare Robert Taylor print would be around £500.