THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 23, 1994 TAG: 9411190199
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: COASTAL JOURNAL
SOURCE: MARY REID BARROW
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Barry Mandell needs the skills of a private detective and not those of an art gallery owner these days as he searches to find out more about the artist who created four lithographs celebrating early aviation achievements.
Mandell, a retired pilot, and his wife Gayle own Vincent's art gallery in Great Neck Square. But Mandell came across the 1928 lithographs in an antique shop in Edenton, N.C. Because of his interest in aviation, he said, he was immediately drawn to the prints and purchased them.
Hand-colored in muted tones of yellow and green, the 14-by-16-lithographs depict early, vulnerable-looking aircraft flying against a land or seascape in the area where the aviation ``first'' occurred.
For example, one shows the Wright brothers' biplane rising over the dunes at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Another depicts Louis Bleriot flying over the Cliffs of Dover in 1909 in the first powered-airplane flight across the English Channel.
The third shows Lt. Cmdr. Albert Read's monoplane nearing the Azores in 1919 on the first transatlantic flight made by a Navy plane and the last is of the Southern Cross, a tri-motor plane that World War I aviator Kingsford-Smith flew to Australia in 1928.
``It was the first transpacific flight, one of the last of the `firsts,' '' Mandell said. ``It was a coveted treasure.''
Although the shop owner could tell Mandell little about the background of the prints themselves, he was able to pass on the history of their ownership. They were once owned by the famous women pilot, Amelia Earhart.
Earhart gave the lithographs to her secretary, Harry Smith, in 1935. They stayed in his possession until he died two to three years ago, Mandell said, and were sold to the Edenton antique store in the process of settling Smith's estate.
When Mandell left Edenton, however, he knew little about the artist or the circumstances under which the prints were commissioned. He knew only that the prints themselves were copyrighted in 1928 by a company called the Wright Aeronautical Corp. and the artist's last name, ``Lemon,'' is in the corner.
Mandell started his research at the Smithsonian Institution where he found out the full name of the artist, Frank Lemon, but the Smithsonian didn't know anything else about the man. There he also learned that his prints are four in a series of 12 because the Smithsonian had two complete sets of the series.
``Because of the 12 prints, they have been led to believe, it could be a calendar series release,'' Mandell said, ``so I began to wonder if Lemon was a local graphic artist who did a series of prints for the company.''
He also found out that Wright Aeronautical had become the Curtis Wright Corp. located in New Jersey. He called Curtis Wright and was told that all the company's memorabilia was in the Hall of Fame Air Museum in Teeterboro, N.J.
When Mandell called the museum, he was told they had two complete sets of the lithographs, one of which is signed by the artist. ``That would be invaluable,'' Mandell noted. The museum also believes there are other complete sets owned by private individuals.
Despite all he has learned, Mandell is no closer to finding out more about the artist himself than he was when he purchased the prints in the Edenton antique store.
Mandell's search for Frank Lemon continues as he and his wife Gayle work to restore the prints and ready them for sale. They are de-acidifying the cardboard backing and plan to frame them so they are sealed from outside pollutants.
Mandell plans to display the lithographs in the gallery, beginning Dec. 1. Each will be documented with the first-person narrative of the pilot who made the flight. They will sell somewhere in the range of $1,000 to $2,000.
``They will be sold as a set,'' Mandell said. ``They can't be broken up because they will lose their value and meaning. They are a composite of significant strides in aviation.''
P.S. Bringing in the greens is the activity at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Adam Thoroughgood House. Watch as the historical interpreters deck the halls with fresh greens and holiday arrangements. The event is free.
PICK-YOUR-OWN CHRISTMAS TREES are available at Jim Bright Farms, 643 Princess Anne Road, Saturday until Christmas on weekends only. White pines and Virginia pines, 4 to 12 feet tall, cost $5 a foot. Call 426-7832. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Gayle and Barry Mandell, owners of Vincent's art gallery in Great
Neck Square, mat lithographs once owned by the pilot Amelia
Earhart.
by CNB