Customer Reviews

Celebration of Flight The Art of Roy Cross

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If you grew up loving models and model airplanes, you probably built at least one Airfix kit. If the dramatic box top illustration encouraged you to dig a little deeper into your pocket and purchase that kit, you probably have Roy Cross to thank. Looking through this beautiful book, you will be struck by how many of these pictures seem familiar; it was Mr. Cross's tenure at Airfix in the 1960s and 1970s that helped make him famous. Presented is a fine representative selection of Cross's work, much of which graced the boxes of Airfix kits. What makes this book particularly enjoyable is the inclusion of the artist's own commentary throughout.

I must point out that Mr. Cross is better known as a maritime artist; for the "other half" of his work, you will have to turn elsewhere. After all, the book's subtitle is "The Aviation Art of Roy Cross." Check out Arthur Ward's "Airfix: Celebrating 50 Years of the Greatest Plastic Kits in the World," for more on the Airfix kits themselves and some of his pictures of ships. Nevertheless, this high-quality book presents a feast for the eyes and a nostalgic journey for the heart.

This is a really good book, especially for anyone interested in aircraft, and particularly anyone interested in art. You have both here. It's one of those books that you really enjoy looking through, and it's one of those books that you pick up time and again...you never get tired of looking at it.

Roy Cross is best known as a maritime artist and much of his "serious" work in the past two decades features seascapes and ships. These tend to be major works commanding high-ish ticket prices in the art world.

"Celebration of Flight: The Aviation Art of Roy Cross" features exclusively the artist's beautiful and dynamic aviation art, with large high-quality colour reproductions of some well-known and a few less well-known but nevertheless interesting works. Interwoven with the striking colour images is good informative text written by the artist, and many technical drawings from his early days. Some works commissioned by aviation companies and some created for publications like "Aviation Week" feature alongside the iconic construction-kit box-top art of the 1960s for which Cross is internationally famous.

It's easy to see why Roy Cross's art has a unique place in the hearts of millions of a certain age who recall the Saturday morning excitement of deciding which Airfix construction kit to buy for the weekend - a decision often influenced by Cross's ground-breaking box-top action paintings of the subject. Cross's art sums up the essence of that largely bygone pre-computer age and survives as one of the defining popular icons of the 1960s and 1970s.

The book is a large, flat volume ideal for coffee-table browsing. I simply oozes quality and is a work of art in itself, a great artefact in its own right and a minor treasure to own.