A personal dedication sets this excellent watercolor narrative by the artist Arthur Beaumont as a special work. As written by Beaumont, "To Vice Admiral Walter Delany, commemorating a most wonderful cruise to Honolulu, May, 1946", this painting is of Armed Cruiser ST. PAUL (CA-73), one of the last warships to commission in 1945 and still see action against the Japanese, providing fire-support and protection for the large carrier groups for some of the final bombardments. ST. PAUL would go on to earn eight battle stars each in the Korean and Vietnam Wars to go with her World War II star.
ST. PAUL (the second American naval vessel to carry the name of the Minnesota capital) launched in September 1944 after a year and one-half out of the Bethlehem Steel Company Yards in Quincy, Mass. After her Caribbean shakedown, she joined TaskForce 38 in the Pacific, and launched the last major salvo against the Japanese from a major warship on August 9, 1945.
With its striking coloration, this painting is in excellent, untouched condition, quite remarkable for a 1940s watercolor. Beaumont is one of the premier American artists in this difficult media, and could present a level of detail using it that is to be marveled at. The massive scale is accurate and still shows the details of the men raising "Old Glory" from the bow flagpole and the crashing splash of the massive anchor hitting the waterway. With the war's conclusion, their spirits and hopes are evident, as well as the pleasure of the boaters on the cabin cruiser yacht in the foreground.
