{"product_id":"original-french-wwi-bronze-of-aerial-ace-artist-lieutenant-henri-farre-with-marble-base","title":"Original French WWI Bronze of Aerial Ace \u0026 Artist Lieutenant Henri Farré with Marble Base","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item. Only One Available. Henri Farré was born in Foix, France in 1871. He is best known for his paintings of WWI aerial battles. Farre flew in the cockpits along with the pilots of the famed Lafayette Escadrille, sketching the air battles as they were taking place. After the battles, Farre created finished, larger oil paintings based on these dogfight sketches. He was given the title of \"Observateur Bombardier au Groupe d'Escadreille de Bombardment\" by the French government and received the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre from France for his war efforts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFarre wrote a book of his exploits called \"Sky Fighters of France\" in 1919. He exhibited at the Paris Salons and won a gold medal at the Salon des Artists Francais in 1934. In 1918, a large collection of Farre's aerial combat paintings was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago to benefit the children of the French aviators killed in action. The exhibition received a nationwide audience, traveling to major cities such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. Laurance Rockefeller, the noted philanthropist and businessman, purchased approximately 75 of these paintings, which are today in the Collection of the Smithsonian's National Air \u0026amp; Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Farre spent time in the U.S. before the Great War and returned to France upon the outbreak of war. After WWI, he settled in Chicago and married an heiress, who was a 'modiste' (couturier), Marguerite Grassino. Farre lived and painted in Chicago until his death in 1934.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a tremendous WWI period bronze of Henri Farré, often considered to be the first aviation artist. Born in France, Henri Farré (1871-1934) trained in Paris and was a successful portrait painter in Buenos Aires before returning home in 1914 to serve his country by painting the Air Force. He flew almost every day and devised dramatic new compositions of airfields, aircraft, and the unprecedented aerial combat of the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bronze is on a marble base measuring 5 x 8⅝ x ⅞”. With the base, the bronze is roughly 17¼” tall. It depicts Henri with his hands folded behind his back, and he is wearing his Pilot’s badge, Croix de Guerre, and Fourragère cord. The base of the bronze is embossed \u003cstrong\u003eLIEUT. HENRI FARRÉ\u003c\/strong\u003e. The marble base has a small brass Aviation insignia with a propeller with a pair of wings, but one of the wings has broken off and is gone. Truly the only flaw of this great bronze. The bronze comes with a printout of his French Wikipedia page. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fantastic bronze of the first aviation artist, ready for further research and display!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42679901159493,"sku":"ONJR25MAMB018","price":895.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/ONJR25MAMB018__01.jpg?v=1745276802","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-french-wwi-bronze-of-aerial-ace-artist-lieutenant-henri-farre-with-marble-base","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}