"R-Bar Over Bielefeld" - Jim Laurier - B-24 Liberator 489th Bomb Group Art

Artist Jim Laurier is a native of New England, growing up in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He has been drawing since he could hold a pencil and throughout his life he has worked in many mediums creating work on a variety of subjects over the years. He attended Paier School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut from 1974-1978 and has been working professionally in the field of Fine Art and Illustration since graduating with honors from that school.

Jim prefers to work in oils on linen or canvas, with realism in his paintings being the goal. A long time aviation enthusiast and pilot, one of his favorite subjects is aircraft. He combines his love of history with his flying experiences to create some of the most realistic and historically accurate aviation paintings seen today. He is widely known for his technical accuracy and attention to detail, which have become the trademarks of his work.

Jim's paintings have been displayed at various museums, air bases, and art shows since 1992 including one man shows at The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, Georgia (2000) and The Franco- American Society in Manchester, New Hampshire (2001). He has art work hanging in The Pentagon and other work on permanent display at Military bases and from the Eastern U.S. to Hawaii.

Jim has won awards at juried art shows including two Par Excellence Awards from the Experimental Aircraft Association, an award from the U.S. Naval Air Museum, The Hooper Award for Editorial Excellence, and an award from the Simulflite Training Center in Dallas, Texas. Jim has also become a prolific illustrator of military subjects and his work can be seen in many books, magazines, and calendars.

As he moves into the future, Jim will continue to paint and illustrate military subjects, but he will also complete new work in different areas such as maritime art, wildlife and landscapes, and other subjects of his personal interest. He believes it is important to explore other themes to grow and excel as an artist. The challenge for an artist should be to consistently strive to improve his or her work and to always seek new knowledge towards that end.

Jim Laurier Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Print "R-Bar Over Bielefeld"

On 2 November, 1944, B-24’s of the 489th BG were sent to destroy the railroad marshalling yards at Bielefeld Germany. The Liberators were met by the new German jet fighters, the Messerschmitt Me-262. It is believed to be one of the earliest jet attacks against U.S. heavy bombers. This was the 489th's first encounter with the Me-262, although rumors had been circulating through the squadrons during the preceding weeks about the strange new German aircraft.

As "R-Bar" was leading the high element off the bombing run, pilots and crew could see some aircraft circling in a lazy eight pattern high above and in front of them . Suddenly, as if on cue, the jets, believed to be from III/ EJG 2 based at Lechfeld, came diving down through the bombers with blinding speed. The jets were only able to complete one firing pass before they were chased off by P-47 Thunderbolts that were escorting the bombers.

The high rate of closing speed in a head on attack had made it almost impossible for the new jets to hit anything. The frontal attack was soon discarded by the Luftwaffe and a rear attack tactic was adopted which gave the jets more time to acquire a target and fire their guns and rockets.

In the brief encounter depicted in "R-Bar Over Bielefeld", one B-24 has an engine that is smoking due to flak damage which occurred previously while on the bomb run, however all aircraft made it home safely on this day with no losses on either side.

This 19" by 25" overall size print, limited to 900, is signed by the artist.

This print is also available in the following format:

With Remarque - Add $75.00

All Limited Edition prints are signed and numbered (S/N) by the artist. Limited Edition prints are restricted to a certain number. For example, if 400 prints are made from an original painting, once they’re gone, that’s it. There is no limit to the number of open edition prints of a particular painting. That’s why Limited Edition prints are more expensive — and more valuable to collectors — than "open" edition. Rare objects are more valuable.

An Artist’s Proof (AP), generally, is the first 5 - 10% of the Limited Edition prints that come off the press. If the Limited Edition is 400 s/n, there would be 20 -40 APs. Collectors prefer APs because their value increases even more than a Limited Edition as time goes by.

A remarque is a pencil drawing done in the white border area of an art print. The subject of the remarque can be decided by the print buyer or the artist. Each remarque is piece of original art which adds to the value of the print by making that particular print unique and exclusive from the rest of the prints in the edition.

All Limited Edition 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.