Original watercolor of a Grumman J2F "Duck" search & rescue seaplane at Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal: Unique, 1942. Very good with "fresh" color.. Large, accomplished, watercolor that measures appx. 15 x 22 inches; signed "Sgt. H Laidman". The watercolor is early in the battle for Guadalcanal because it is signed "Sgt." therefore before Laidman's battlefield commission. The sheet of watercolor paper is mounted (not recent) to board; hand-written label on verso.

In 1942, Hugh Laidman, commercial artist, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as a Sergeant with the aviation unit at Henderson Field. He was also a combat artist in the South Pacific, chronicling the battles throughout the Pacific Theater of Operations. He was head of the USMC art program and along with his fellow Marines Elmer Wexler and Vic Donohue, were the first three artists to go into combat at Guadalcanal during WWII. He received a battlefield commission and eventually contracted malaria, but still managed to produce numerous sketches of the engagement. Some of his battle scene watercolors of planes & flyers were exhibited in a group exhibition (traveling exhibit) at the Museum of Modern Art in 1943 entitled “Marines Under Fire”, as well as the National Gallery of Art.