Limited Edition 12" by 18" Print Signed and numbered by the artist and co-signed by Pearl Harbor Veteran Taisuke Maruyama
ERNIE BOYETTE
Ernie was born to poor parents on a sweet potato farm in Green Cove Springs, Florida. The family raised chickens, rabbits and agriculural foods. The last of seven children, his father died when he was two years old. Growing up, Ernie always helped his mother and encouraged her in her self-taught wildlife painting. When she passed away in 1985, she left him her art supplies and some blank canvasses.
Bored with a job he disliked, he decided to figure out how to paint one night in 1986. He pulled out his mom's "art stuff" and started. Never having an art lesson in life other than what he was taught in public school, Ernie did about ten paintings over the next several years. Trained in marketing, in June 1991, he decided to try art as a business. Convinced he had talent, he swore he would be making his living from his artwork, writing and photography.
Not knowing what he wanted to paint, he liked airplanes and military so he tried that. He started painting one airplane after another. In the spring of 1993, he received his first commission from an F-18 Squadron stationed at Cecil Field, Jacksonville, Florida. Commander John "Lites" Leenhouts employed him to do a black and white Limited Edition of their squadron aircraft.
In 1994 he started his series "Famous American Aviators". His first prints were his heroes, George Gay and Robert "Bob" Scott. Between January 1991 and December 2000 he painted no less than 150 paintings. From March 1993 to September 2000 he published 42 Limited Edition prints along with 36 poster prints. In the fall of 2002 he was commissioned by Cook Cleland's family to paint all three of the F2G Corsair racers that he flew in the late 1940's at the Ohio Air Races. Cook won the Thompson Trophy in 1947 and 1949. Ernie had worked with Cook in 1997 with a print of the SBD dive-bomber he flew in WWII.
In March of 2003 Ernie was officially knighted as a “Knight of Vision” for his efforts in telling the stories of Great britain's famous aviators. Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette now signs all his original paintings as Sir Hamilton.
His artwork is now marketed nationwide in aviation museum gift shops including the Smithsonian. In November of 2006 his artwork was selected by the new Pearl Harbor Museum, Hawaii, to be sold in their gift shop. Ernie's artwork has also appeared in the Aviation History magazine and his prints are marketed worldwide.
Ernie Boyette Signed and Numbered Print "Ensign Taisuke Maruyama"
Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" Torpedo Bomber
Taisuke Maruyama joined the Imperial Japanese Navy to improve his education. Maruyama joined the Navy at age 16 and was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval Air Base. The 19-year old cadet later completed his flying courses on March 25, 1941. Maruyama's first assignment was onboard the carrier Hiryu as a "Kate" torpedo bomber crewman. To this day, he remembers the strenuous training that was done to prepare him and his comrades for the big Pearl Harbor attack that would start the war with America. During his training, the naval aviators did two things to prepare for the attack. First, they did low altitude torpedo attack training above Kinko Bay, which was nearby the island of Kyushu. Second, the aviators also did nighttime torpedo attack training above the Bungo Channel, located between the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. During the infamous attack, he claimed a hit on the battleship Oklahoma, which subsequently capsized.
In January 1942, while still assigned to Hiryu, the young aviator bombed Port Darwin, Australia. Compared to the Pearl Harbor mission, this mission was much easier because the Japanese faced very little opposition. The final results of the attack were 11 enemy ships sunk, over 20 enemy aircraft destroyed and the installations severely damaged. Maruyama also participated in the strike against the island of Ceylon later that same year.
The Battle of Midway was the turning point in the war for the Japanese. Admiral Yamamoto pledged to destroy the American carrier force by surprising them nearby the island of Midway. During the beginning of the battle, he was one of the airmen to attack the island. Unfortunately for the Japanese, later that same day, the Americans destroyed three of their carriers, Akagi, Soryu and Kaga. Maruyama was onboard the last surviving carrier Hiryu. The surviving airmen decided to make a last-ditch attack on the American carrier Yorktown. During the attack, Maruyama's plane was hit by enemy fire, and white fog began to leak from the fuel tank. Luckily for him, it did not catch fire and he dropped his torpedo on the enemy carrier. As the young aviator passed the deck of the carrier, Maruyama could see the faces of the American sailors on the ship. After completing his attack on the Yorktown, he returned back to his ship Hiryu. Later during the battle, Hiryu also was later hit by American dive-bombers and sank. Maruyama miraculously jumped off the burning ship and survived.
While stationed on the carrier Hiyo, he bombed the island of Guadalcanal on October 17, 1942. Maruyama later transferred to the carrier Junyo and he torpedoed the U.S.S. Hornet on October 26, 1942 during the Battle of Santa Cruz. As the tide of the war began to turn, Maruyama continued to fly missions against the enemy. Luckily for him, he always managed to beat the odds and return home unscathed. On December 26, 1944, the experienced aviator bombed the American airfields on the island of Saipan, which was a large base for the B-29 Superfortress bombers.
Towards the end of the war, he made several torpedo attacks against the United States Fleet off the coast of Okinawa. Throughout the war Maruyama participated in several dangerous missions, but he was fortunate and managed to survive the conflict.
All artwork is subject to availability at time of order. Although seller strives to remain currrent as to inventory, seller reserves the right to cancel a sale if item is no longer available at time of purchase.
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