4510 - Karl Stephan: Warship firing its guns

Karl Stephan: Warship firing its guns Depiction of a warship (probably the ‘Admiral Scheer’, a heavy cruiser commissioned in 1934, which saw action on various missions during the Second World War and capsized near Kiel in 1945) firing its guns on the high seas, impasto painting, reminiscent in style of Claus Bergen’s ship and war paintings, oil on canvas, 1940s, signed lower left, in need of cleaning, frame dented, inner dimensions 70.5 x 99.5 cm. Artist information: also used the pseudonym “H. Albrecht”, German painter, poster artist, illustrator, science fiction artist and flying instructor (1923, Gera - 1980, Munich?), spent his childhood in Gera, completed an apprenticeship in aircraft construction whilst training as a glider pilot, was self-taught in art, served as a pilot during the Second World War, exhibited an Alpine landscape at the Great German Art Exhibition in 1943 and also worked as a painter during the war, After the Second World War, he worked as a poster artist in Bamberg; from 1952, he was a contributor and cover illustrator for the novel series “Fiegergeschichten” and the “Anker-Hefte. ‘Seefahrt in aller Welt’ published by Moewig-Verlag; as a contributor to the science fiction series ‘Utopia’, published by Erich Pabel Verlag in Rastatt, he used the pseudonym ‘H. Albrecht’, from 1957 to 1971, he was the cover illustrator for the new Moewig series “Terra”, later designing cover art for the Heyne paperback series “Science-Fiction Classics”, whilst also working as a freelance flight instructor, commercial artist and landscape painter in Lochham/Gräfelfing near Munich, Source: Vollmer, Saur’s “Bio-Bibliographical Artists’ Encyclopaedia”, Friedrich Gerlach’s “Zauberspiegel”, Kürscher’s Graphic Designers’ Handbook and Wikipedia.