Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2017.004.001 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Collection |
2017.004 |
Title |
Dayton, Home of Aviation |
Artist |
Whitmore, Coby, 1913-1988 |
Description |
This oil-on-canvas painting features Wilbur and Orville Wright standing on a street in Dayton, Ohio, around 1910. The two figures stand in the center of the composition; Orville is on the left, standing in profile and facing to the right and Wilbur is on the left, facing to the front. Orville wears a three-quarters length black coat, black pants, black shoes, a white collared shirt with a black tie, and a staw hat with a black band. He holds a black umbrella in his right hand, slightly behind him. Wilbur wears a three-piece brown suit with brown shoes, a white collared shirt, a striped tie, and a brown cap. In the middleground to the left of the figures is a bicycle, a group of men in a red car, and two green street cars. To the right of the figures is the Wright Flyer on wheels and a brown horse. In the background are several brick buildings of downtown Dayton, Ohio. |
Material |
Canvas |
Notes |
Wilbur and Orville Wright lived and worked for much of their lives in Dayton, Ohio. Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, in Millville, Indiana and Orville was born on August 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. Their parents were Milton Wright and Susan Catherine Wright and their siblings were their older brothers, Reuchlin and Milton, and their younger sister, Katherine. As their work progressed, Katherine became instrumental to the brothers' success while serving as their representative in social engagements and as an officer of the Wright Company. As young men, Wilbur and Orville designed and built a printing press together, and opened a print shop in 1889. They even published and printed their own local newspaper. Their love for mechanics lead them to open their own bicycle shop in 1892, and by 1896 they were selling their own brand of bicycles, which they called Wright Flyers. Such a name made clear where their true passion lay: in the air. While running their bicycle shop, they were constantly studying flight and experimenting with aerodynamics and wing designs. They first started experimenting with different gliders at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1900. These early trials helped them to engineer wings that warped for steering. Once confident in their glider design, they went to work creating a gasoline engine that could provide the power to sustain flight. Ultimately, the Wright brothers are best known for being the first to create a heavier-than-air machine that was able to sustain controlled flight with a pilot aboard. That flight took place in December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina with Orville piloting the plane. Their first flight lasted about twelve seconds, and traveled 120 feet in distance. The flight was witnessed by only a handful of local residents who knew the Wright brothers from their annual trips to Kitty Hawk, thus their claim to have completed the first powered flight was initially given little credibility by the press or fellow flight experts. From that point, the Wright brothers spent years perfecting their plane design and flying abilities. Much of their flying practice took place on a field just outside of Dayton. In 1908, Wilbur Wright traveled to Europe to prove that the brothers had created the best flying machine in the world to that point. Wilbur found success, piloting dozens of flights in front of audiences throughout a number of European countries. Contracts were made for Wright planes both by the United States and France. In 1909, a contract in Germany followed. By then, the brothers had created the Wright Company in the United States; Wilbur served as president and Orville as vice president. They continued flying and breaking flight records while running their business. Tragically, Wilbur contracted typhoid fever and died on May 30, 1912 at the age of 45. Orville survived him by 36 years, and passed away on January 30, 1948 after having seen planes used extensively for warfare in World War I and World War II. This image was featured as the cover art for a 1976 Top Value Gift Catalog. The catalog included a variety of merchandise for home, family, or personal use. |
Provenance |
Jim Dicke II of New Breman, Ohio, donated the painting, "Dayton, Home of Aviation" by Coby Whitmore to the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board on February 15, 2017. The donation was made through the Crown Equipment Corporation of New Breman, Ohio. |
Image size |
32.5" H x 44.0" W |
People |
Whitmore, Coby, 1913-1988 Wright, Orville, 1871-1948 Wright, Wilbur, 1867-1912 |
Search Terms |
Dayton, Ohio |
Subjects |
Automobiles Bicycles & tricycles |