"Duel Over New Georgia" - Marc Stewart - F4U-1 Corsair World War II Art

Marc Stewart is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, currently residing in Newnan, Georgia. He has always had a love of flying and a love of aircraft (WWII aircraft in particular). As a teenager he earned his private pilots license. He and his friends flew all over the U.S. and Canada in a Cessna 120, and through their ignorance of youth (mixed with a lot of luck) narrowly averted death many times! They would often get two aircraft and "dogfight" each other or put on "airshows" for friends.

In college Marc became involved in sailplane flying and was an active member of the West Georgia College Sport Parachute Team. After college, he joined the U.S. Navy and graduated from Aviation Officers Candidate School in Pensacola. Marc then began flight training in pursuit of a career in Naval Aviation. During his Naval career Marc flew several aircraft including the T-34C, T-2C, US-2B, C-12, C-131 and the TA-4J Skyhawk. In 1995, he retired from the Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant Commander.

In grade school and high school Marc drew or painted aircraft subjects. Throughout college many of his art shows were of an aviation theme. Marc believes his early flying experience influenced his college art projects. His military flying days and aviation maintenance experience further served to enhance his attention to detail in his aviation artwork.

Marc’s aviation art has been juried into numerous exhibits nationwide including the EAA Sport Aviation Art Competition and the National Museum of Naval Aviation’s Aviation Art Competition Exhibition. Marc won “First Place – Military” from Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine in the 2002 International Juried Aerospace Art Exhibition. His work has illustrated articles in numerous publications including Aviation History, World War II, Military History, and Airline Pilot Careers magazine.

Marc has been an Artist member of the American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA) since 1993 and holds a B.A. in Fine Art. His career as a professional artist spans ten years. From illustrating features in internationally published history magazines to private commissions for clients such as aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, Marc continues to expand his horizons in historical and military art.

Marc Stewart Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Print "Duel Over New Georgia"

While serving his last combat tour at Guadalcanal, Capt. Herbert H. "Trigger" Long was assigned to VMF-122 squadron. On 7 July 1943, during a fighter sweep, he encountered a formation of Japanese Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers over New Georgia Island in the Solomons. Capt. Long picked a Betty out of the formation and began firing. The Betty's tailgunner fired back at Capt. Long's F4U-1 Corsair. "Trigger" quickly maneuvered into position behind the bomber and neutralized the tailgunner. He then concentrated his attack on the bomber's right engine, pounding away at it with .50 caliber machine gun fire.

The Japanese pilot broke formation and began a deadly game of "hide and seek", darting in and out of the couds trying to lose Capt. Long on his tail. As he gave chase through the clouds, Capt. Long spotted the Betty just as it ditched in the island's shallow waters. Capt. Long circled again to confirm his 4th victory.

While serving on Guadalcanal with VMF-121 and VMF-122, Capt. Long was credited with 6 kills. Later with Air Group 84 and VMF-451 aboard the U.S.S. Bunker Hill, he added 4 more kills to his record. Major Long was also credited with 3 direct hits with 5" HVAR rockets on the Japanese Aircraft Carrier Ryuho at the Japanese Naval Base at Kure. Col. Long flew 143 missions in Wildcat and Corsair aircraft. He finished the war with 10 victories. After the war he continued to serve, including duty in Vietnam. In 1968, Herbert H. Long retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Colonel.

This 18" by 24" overall size print, 15" by 22" image size, limited to 500, is signed by the artist and co-signed by WWII Ace Col. Herbert H. Long.

This print is also available in the following format:

50 Artist Proofs - $130.00

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. This status is noted on the print. Collectors prefer APs because their value increases even more than a Limited Edition as time goes by.

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.