The Stand

The Stand by Russell Smith

Giclee on paper...$175.00
Edition size of 250
Image size:  23" x 18.5"

Giclee on Canvas...$350.00
Edition size of 30
Image size: 24" x 18 "

All prints are S/N by Artist 

For 90 years, controversy has surrounded the death of the enigmatic American pilot Lt. Frank Luke, Jr. Over the past 15 years, author and historian Stephen Skinner has researched the subject in depth and has pieced together the evidence that he has found. Drawing on over a thousand pages of unpublished material, on-site archeological work in France and dozens of interviews with the descendents of those involved, Skinner's book THE STAND: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke, Jr. writes the last chapter on the life and death of America's most spectacular fighter pilot.

According to Skinner, during the late afternoon of September 29, 1918, Luke took out a couple of German balloons near the town of Murvaux. The weather was poor and a low ceiling of cloud cover kept Luke near the ground as he flew. After circling the town and turning back towards the allied lines he was hit in the upper right chest by anti-aircraft fire and immediately set the SPAD down in a field next to the Cote St Germain (a hill outside of Murvaux). Mortally wounded and still under fire, he managed to struggle free of the airplane and made his way down to a creek about 100 yards from the SPAD where he died soon after, his lungs filled with blood.

The Stand depicts Frank Luke during the final, controversial moments prior to his death. The image is featured as the cover art for Skinner's book by the same name.