Customers interested in acquiring this original should to arrange the purchase.
The beautiful coral atolls portrayed below this Boeing Model 314 are almost enough to inspire one to start planning their next vacation, and to long for the era when you could travel on a plane such as this! The 314, first carrying passengers in 1939, was the largest passenger plane in the world until the debut of the B747 some 30 years later. But due to the intrusion of World War II, most of the Boeing 314's flights were as the C-98, flying VIPs and cargo for the war effort. Only 12 of these aircraft were ever built, with PanAm using nine of them as ultra-luxury transports on flights from the US mainland to destinations in Asia. Both President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill enjoyed flights on the type. But after just nine years of service, the 314 lost its long-range route throne to types such as the DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation; during the war many larger airfields that could handle the big planes had been constructed, and the need for a sea-based airliner fell to near zero.
Koike's painting is of "California Clipper" on February 23, 1939 as she makes the first Pacific passenger flight of the type.
This original painting is acrylic on heavy art board. The board measures 54cm x 39cm, and the painted area is approximately 45cm x 33.5cm.