War plane paintings to be a highlight of exhibition (From Wiltshire Times)

War plane paintings to be a highlight of exhibition

2:00pm Wednesday 19th September 2001 in News

AN exhibition featuring works by renowned aviation artist Denis Pannett will be one of the highlights of this year's Mayfair Arts Festival.

Denis, of Woodlands Drive, Beaconsfield, will show his painting of the De Havilland 88 Comet G-ACSS, a famous aircraft which won the 1934 MacRobertson air race from England to Australia, at the exhibition in Grosvenor House, London.

The aircraft, named 'Grosvenor House' after it was sponsored by the hotel's then manager, has been heralded as 'the most famous aircraft of all time' and was the third of only five Comets built.

It now rests in Hatfield at British Aerospace and after a 14 year rebuild, 1987 saw it take to the skies once again.

Denis, a member of the Guild of Aviation Artists, will show his work alongside his watercolourist daughter Belinda and sculptress Faith Winter.

He turned full-time professional artist 20 years ago after a career in the diamond company DeBeers and comes from a family of artists, most well known from a television programme when nine family members got together to show their own exhibition.

Juliet Pannett, the family's most famous member, is best known for her paintings of the Queen, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward at Buckingham Palace.

She recently celebrated her 90th birthday.

Art-lovers and aviation enthusiasts alike are urged to come along to the Mayfair exhibition at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London up until September 28.