[by Cyril Barraud.]
[n.d., 1922.]
Etching. 155 x 105mm (6¼ x 4¼"). Some staining.
Derived from the Nieuport Nighthawk, the Gloster Mars I was a single-seat racing biplane. In 1922 a Mars I made an attempt on the world air speed record. Although the recorded speed of 212.15 mph (342 km/h) was faster than the existing record, it did not exceed it by the required margin, so the record was not recognised. Cyril Barraud (1877-1965), son of Herbert Rose Barraud and nephew of Francis Barraud. Having trained at the Brighton School of Art he emigrated to Winnepeg in 1913. He was commissioned as a lieutenant with the 43rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in 1915 but transferred to the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada a few months later. He was wounded in the leg fighting in France in 1917, but returned to active service. Barraud was one of the first Canadian artists hired by Lord Beaverbrook for the War Records Office to sketch Canadian battle zones around Ypres and Vimy Ridge-Arras sectors. Later he was seconded to the Canadian War Memorials Fund. After demobilisation he remained in England, painting and etching landscapes, some of which were used for the LNER carriage prints, and taking commissions for christmas cards.
[Ref: 37597]  £220.00