HUBERT HERKOMER (1881-?)
16
●
NORMANDIE / FRENCH LINE. 1939.
39x24 inches, 99x61 cm. Hill, Siffken & Co., London.
Condition A. Matted and framed.
Launched in 1935, the
Normandie
captured the Blue Ribband on her maiden voyage, making the
fastest Atlantic crossing to date. Her interiors exemplified the finest French craftsmanship of the era,
reflecting the prevailing Art Deco style in every aspect of her fittings. Not only was she one of the most
famous ocean liners in the world, but she also benefited from the best graphic advertising, immortalized
by A.M. Cassandre, Paul Colin, and in this design by Herkomer. Her career was cut short by the
outbreak of World War II, at which point she was docked in New York, and was interned by the U.S.
Government on September 3, 1939. In 1941, she was taken over by the U.S. Coast Guard and renamed
the
USS Lafayette
. In 1942, during a refitting to make her suitable as a troop transport, she caught fire
and eventually capsized under the weight of the water used to extinguish the blaze. This poster, arguably
the last to be done before the end of her career, is also considered to be one of the rarest. The artist,
whose tour-de-force lithography elegantly depicts the aerodynamic ship at night, should not be mistaken
for the great British painter Sir Hubert von Herkomer, whose death in 1914 precludes him from the
honor of having designed this image. La Mer p. 155.
[15,000/20,000]
