ELLIS, CHARLES. SATURN A-1 ROCKET, CIRCA 1959

Acrylic and gouache on board, 17 ½ by 12 ½ inches (sight), signed "Charles F. Ellis" in ink at lower right. Matted and framed to 29 by 24 inches.  

Ex Collection of Frederick C. Durant, III

Charles F. Ellis (1925-2004) worked as a commercial artist for advertising agencies in the Philadelphia area, and his work was additionally featured in such publications as the Saturday Evening Post, Jack and Jill Magazine, and others. The present work is an imagining of an early Saturn A-1 rocket, shown here mid-launch.  The Saturn A-1 was projected to be the first version of Saturn I, and was to be used if necessary before the S-IV liquid hydrogen second stage became available. This rocket never flew, but all stages of the Saturn A-1 were used on successive launch vehicles.