Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. Roy Grinnell was born in Santa Barbara, California. As a child, he enjoyed drawing airplanes and at the age of eleven, he painted a Swedish P-51 shooting down a Me-109 for his Swedish grandmother. When Roy graduated from Santa Barbara High School, he decided to join the Navy and was stationed in Guam. After serving his time in the Navy, he attended the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles, California and graduated with honors.

Preserving Aviation History on canvas is Roy Grinnell’s forte’ and it has brought him worldwide recognition as an aviation artist of the highest caliber. Roy’s documentation of aerial combat events has given him the honor of being the official artist of the American Fighter Aces Association. Over the years, Roy has painted over 28 original oil paintings for the American Fighter Aces Association depicting combat missions of the top American Aces of WW1, WW11, Korean War and the Vietnam War. These Aces include WW1 Aces George Vaughn, Douglas Campbell and Ray Brooks, WW11 Aces including Tex Hill, Joe Foss, Gabby Gabreski, Marion Carl, Rex Barber, Alex Vraciu, Chuck Yeager, Chuck Older, Robert L. Scott, Korean War Aces Boots Blesse and Guy Bordelon, and Vietnam War Ace Steve Ritchie. In 2004 at the American Fighter Aces Reunion in Seattle, Washington, Roy was made an “Honorary Ace.” Roy’s original oil paintings have been displayed at the Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington, in the Personal Courage Wing and the Dahlberg Research Center.

Grinnell is more well-known for his aviation artwork, but this is an outstanding example of his other work, an original oil painting dating to the 1960s, depicting a German tank crew, likely driving a Panzer III, in North Africa conducting reconnaissance. The painting is on a large board measuring 22 ¾ x 26 ⅞”, but the painted area itself measures 16 ½ x 20 ½”. Grinnell’s signature is clear in the bottom right corner. As far as we can tell, this painting is not available anywhere else, making this a very scarce and unique offering.

Two German tanksm likely Panzer III, are moving along a sandy path as two men sit atop a hill with binoculars, conducting reconnaissance work. Another soldier crouches along the hill carrying an MP40. A soldier seated on the back of the tank is on a headset, no doubt delivering coordinates for an artillery bombardment.

An outstanding painting, ready for display!