Lot 1320

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Description:

Excellent pair of original watercolor paintings commemorating the German dead of the Battle of the Falkland Islands, in which the East Asia Squadron of the Imperial German Navy, commanded by Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee, was destroyed by a powerful British force with the loss of all but 215 of its 2,086 sailors. The first painting, 11 1/4" x 8" (sight), depicts a German sailor, propped on a piece of wreckage and signaling to British warships with an Imperial "Reichskreigsflagge" in hope of rescue. The heads of other floating sailors can be seen in the surrounding water, as a German warship burns fiercely on the horizon. The painting bears the artist's signature "H. Grosche" in red paint at lower right, while the title "Der letzte Mann" ("The Last Man"), appears on the reverse of the frame, along with the date of the battle, December 8, 1914, and the inscription "Berlin 2/April 1920 Herbert Grosche". The painting appears to specifically depict the fate of the crew of the light cruiser SMS LEIPZIG, as the reverse of the frame also bears a printed narrative in German, 1p. 4to., describing the refusal of the British warships to rescue the survivors of that ship after she was separated from the rest of the East Asia Squadron and hunted down, becoming the last ship to be sunk on the day of the battle. Affixed next to this is a hand-written poem in German, 1p. 4to., also entitled "Der letzte Mann" and signed by the unknown writer, also bearing the date of the battle. This painting is accompanied by a second image, also 11 1/4" x 8" (sight), depicting the sailor from the previous painting drowned and floating in the ocean with his "Reichskriegsflagge" draped around him and a glowing cross at his head, as storm clouds billow overhead. This painting is also signed "H. Grosche" at lower right. This painting is titled "Ein Held" ("A Hero") on the reverse of the frame, which also bears the inscription "Berlin 18/April 1920 Herbert Grosche". both paintings are matted in brown-grey and mounted in black-painted wood and plaster frames, with some chips to the frame and the ephemera affixed to the first example, else very good. Only eighteen of the Leipzig's men would survive the battle, with the British victors facing accusations of destroying the cruiser's lifeboats as they attempted to abandoned ship. Provenance: The War Museum, New York.

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May 1, 2019 10:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

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$100 $499 $20
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$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000