John
Hornbuckle (British, 20th century). This painting comes from a portfolio of
works depicting World War II Naval aviation scenes, consisting mainly of oil
paintings on paper. The artworks are unsigned, acquired from auction and
attributed to John Hornbuckle by the vendor- 'He was a Naval Officer based at
Royal Naval Air Station HMS Condor, Arbroath, specialising in meteorology'.
There were other slightly more contemporary lots in the auction alongside these
paintings, by Ros and Nora Hornbuckle. Nora Hornbuckle born in Nottingham 1930
daughter of Frank Hornbuckle b 1897 and Fanny Whitsed. There is a John
Hornbuckle b. 1905 in Nottingham that could be franks brother, but more
research would need to be done to narrow it down. RNAS Arbroath was first
established in 1938 as a Fleet Air Arm facility, also known as HMS Condor, two
miles North West of Arbroath. These paintings would have been done around the
time Condor was established / 2nd World War, which would put John in his early
to mid 30's. On the reverse of one of the paintings is a printed Geostropic
Wind Map, with hand drawn detail to the Atlantic Ocean and other number
inscriptions.
The last image details part of the whole collection. This
listing is for one painting, as detailed below.
Oil on heavy smooth wove paper, beautifully painted using a palette knife. Reasonable condition, showing aged wear. There is light creases and minor paint loss to the paper corners and edges. Also slightly soiled surface and a few foxing spots, so the paper would benefit from light cleaning.
Painting to paper edge measures 48.5cm x 43cm.