A large limited-edition RAF aviation print, numbered 668/1084 and pencil-signed by Mark Postlethwaite alongside pilot Al Byford, navigator Steve Morris and Marshal of the RAF Sir Keith Williamson.

Bibliographic Details

Artist: Mark Postlethwaite.
Title: The Calm Before the Storm.
Medium: Colour print on paper, laid to card.
Edition: No. 668 of 1084, numbered in pencil, with Certificate of Authenticity. Published circa 1991.
Signatures: Signed in pencil by the artist Mark Postlethwaite; Flight Lieutenant Al Byford, Pilot; Flight Lieutenant Steve Morris, Navigator; and Sir Keith Williamson, Marshal of the Royal Air Force, GCB, AFC.
Size: Approximately 84 × 40.5 cm overall.
Format: Print laid to card, apparently as issued.

Condition

Good condition. A few tiny speckled spots around the artist's signature. Small bumps to the left-side corners, well away from the printed area. Minor mounting residue to the left margin, together with a few pale blemishes to the upper margin and a very pale small blemish to one area of the printed image. Overall nicely preserved and displaying well. Please examine the accompanying photographs carefully for the overall condition or request a more detailed condition report if required. Owing to its size and format, the print will be securely sent flat-packed.

Description

An impressive large-format example of Mark Postlethwaite's The Calm Before the Storm, combining the work of one of Britain's leading aviation artists with the pencil signatures of three distinguished Royal Air Force figures.

The print depicts aircraft from the RAF Tornado detachment at Muharraq, during the Iraq War, completing their final re-fueling bracket en route to the target, early February 1991.

The print is individually numbered 668 from a limited edition of 1084 and bears Postlethwaite's own pencil signature at the lower right. It is further countersigned in the lower margin by Flight Lieutenant Al Byford, Pilot, and Flight Lieutenant Steve Morris, Navigator.

Of particular interest is the additional signature of Sir Keith Williamson, GCB, AFC, Marshal of the Royal Air Force. One of the RAF's most senior post-war commanders, Williamson reached the service's highest rank, making his autograph a particularly appropriate and desirable addition to an important piece of RAF aviation art.

The combination of the artist's signature with those of operational aircrew and a Marshal of the Royal Air Force gives this example considerably greater historical and collecting interest than an unsigned decorative impression.

Mark Postlethwaite is particularly admired among military aviation collectors for his ability to combine technically convincing aircraft with dramatic atmospheric settings. His paintings frequently place the aircraft within a broader narrative rather than presenting them simply as technical portraits, an approach well demonstrated by the evocative title The Calm Before the Storm.

At approximately 84 cm in width, the work has considerable presence and was clearly conceived as a substantial display piece. The wide horizontal format lends itself particularly well to aviation subjects and allows Postlethwaite's composition to unfold across an expansive field.

A strong example for the collector of RAF history, signed aviation art and British military aviation, distinguished by its substantial size, limited-edition status and particularly impressive group of pencil signatures.

Notes

Sir Keith Williamson, GCB, AFC (1928–2018) rose to become Chief of the Air Staff and was subsequently promoted to Marshal of the Royal Air Force, the RAF's highest rank. The presence of his signature alongside those of the pilot and navigator provides this limited-edition Postlethwaite print with an unusually strong association with the Royal Air Force at both operational and senior-command level.