Flying Against The Elements

Artist Edmund Miller (Lympne, Kent, England, born 1929)

Date1987

Mediumoil on board

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 88 cm, Width: 112 cm
Frame: Height: 101.5 cm, Width: 125.6 cm

AcquisitionPresented in 1987 by Dan Air Services.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG008403

Keywords

About MeThis painting is an imagined view of how Aberdeen Airport might have looked when it was opened in the 1930s. It depicts the scene on 23rd November 1937 and shows Gandar Dower, founder of the airline Aberdeen Airgroup, seeing off a de Havilland DH80A Puss Moth (in the foreground) preparing to take the scheduled airmail flight to Sumburgh, Shetland.

Eric Leslie Gandar Dower (1894-1987) established Aberdeen Airport and pioneered Scottish Air Lines between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, Glasgow, Wick, Thurso, Kirkwall, and Stromness, as well as the first British/Norwegian Air Line between Newcastle and Stavanger in 1937. He served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve from 1940-43.

The painting was commissioned by Mr P.V. Clegg on behalf of Dan Air.

More About Me

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This image appears to show a golden age of aviation for Aberdeen… and a stone age for airfield security!