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Cranston Fine Arts  Military Art and Artists Featured Current Military Artists  Jason Askew |
[UP] - Chris Collingwood - David Pentland - Mark Churms - Brian Palmer - Graeme Lothian - Jason Askew - Terence Cuneo - David Rowlands |
| More Pages : Napoleonic Art - Zulu Wars - World War One - World War Two - Original Paintings - Original Drawings - Postcards |
| Jason Askew |
Jason Askew was born in south africa, went to the Johannesburg school of art ballet,and music, and attended the City and Guilds of London Art College, Kennington. His interest in military history started as a teenager in the history of South Africa, The Zulu and South African wars, where he got his inspiration for his first major epic series of the Zulu war. Everyone doing national service had a choice of going to the army or the police. He was in the police - the police and army training being very similar. In South Africa, the police service was, and is still bearing the brunt of the civil unrest, and the crime wave (average of 19000 murders per year for the last ten years) It is through the experience of the police, and what he had to confront, that motivated him to paint these experiences, and it was very good for somoene with an interest in military history to see the effects of fighting first hand, particularly in the brutal, sometimes hand to hand killing that is the norm in South African situations. He was based at Hillbrow (the bronx of Joburg) and also served with the SAPS flyng squad. All the experiences that he had in the SAPS directly inform the paintings that Jason Askew does. : I never lose sight of the fact that real people are often caught in the middle of conflicts that are created by politicians/governments/reasons beyond the control of individuals, yet it is always individuals that suffer. Jason Askew is often commisisoned by many British and overseas regiments. 2RGR the gurkhas,The Queens Lancashire Regiment, the Coldstream Guards,the Staffordshire Regiment to name a few. He was also an official war artist for the Staffordshire Regiment in Iraq. Cranston Fine Arts are proud to be publishing a majority of art prints by Jason Askew since 2005 and are planning a major series of releases which they have commissioned over the next few months, including an outstanding series of eight First World war battlescenes of many of the major western front battles. This series started in 2007 and will be completed by the end of 2008. Also included is a series of four Battle of Waterloo and four Zulu War limited editions, all specially priced for collectors.
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| Text for the above items : |
Faster Boys - Give Them Hell! Loos, September 25th 1915 by Jason Askew. Dawn. British artillery thundered, and the territorial soldiers 15th Scottish division stormed towards the German trenches defending the coal mining village of Loos. The gas cloud that preceded the Highland advance was pendulous and largely stationary due to a distinct lack of wind, and ,upon emerging from the smudgy gas, the highlanders were pelted with machine gun fire and shrapnel from the defending German batteries. Not to be denied, the Scots gritted their teeth, and with an officer shouting faster boys! give them hell! the highlanders charged straight at the defenses. The Germans, unnerved by the stubborn courage of their kilted opponents, began to fall back through the village of Loos. The Camerons and the Black Watch, shouting their battle cry and charging down the main road of the village, then engaged the defending Germans in a series of savage battles for each and every house - hob-nailed boots, rifle butts, and bayonets being wielded with great enthusiasm by the vengeful Scots. By 8.00am the village was in Scottish hands. |
8th US Infantry, 4th US Division enter Sainte-Marie-du-Mont by Jason Askew. After breaking through the German defences on Utah Beach, and neutralising the enemy strongpoint at La Madeleine, forward recon elements of the 8th US Infantry, 4th US Division, enter the town of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Normandy, in order to effect a link up between themselves and the paratroopers of the 101st Screaming Eagles. |
Rorkes Drift 22nd January 1879 - Defending the Store House by Jason Askew By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 14th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
Ulundi 4th July 1879 - Charge of the 17th Lancers by Jason Askew. The British force of 17,000 British and native troops, under the command of Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford engaged over 22,000 Zulu warriors on 4th July 1879 at Ulundi. During the battle several thousand Zulus surrounded the British infantry which formed a square with the 17th Lancers at its centre. When the Zulus attack faltered the 17th Lancers passed out of the back of the square and were ordered to charge. The impact of the charge broke up what was left of the Zulu formations and the Zulu army dissolved in flight. The British casualties at the Battle of Ulundi were 3 officers and 79 men. but it is believed the Zulu losses were around 1500. |
Pather Tank at the Danube Bridgehead by Jason Askew. (P) Floridsdorf, Vienna, 3th April 1945. By mid April the Soviet assault had almost cleared German resistance from the south bank of the Danube. Only one small bridgehead remained open to allow troops a chance to escape, and this exit was defended by only 2 tanks and a few anti-tank guns. Defending the eastern approaches to the bridge was the Panther tank of SS Obersturmfurher Arnold Friesen, 2nd SS Panzer Division. Despite being only 19 he was a veteran of Kursk, Normandy, the Ardennes and Hungary with a tally of 97 tank kills to his credit. By the end of the day Friesen and his crew accounted for a further 14 soviet tanks, (the last two with panzerfausts), before covering the final withdrawal of the last German units across the bridge under cover of darkness. |
Stug III by Jason Askew. (P) With production totals greater than any other armoured unit in the German army, the Stug, or Sturmgeschutz III, was a formidable enemy on the battlefield. |
Cameron Highlanders Capture a German Force on the Yser by Jason Askew. This incident took place on October 23rd,1914. A party of German soldiers had been driven to take shelter in the small house. British artillery then targeted the house, making the situation of the Germans uncomfortable. Under cover of the bombardment, a company of Cameron Highlanders rushed the position, intercepting the Germans as they tried to extricate themselves. After a brief struggle, and being somewhat unnerved by the prompt appearance of the Highlanders; the German group surrendered. |
Rorkes Drift 22nd January 1879 - Defending the Hospital by Jason Askew By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 14th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
Tiger I by Jason Askew. (P) The Tiger tank was one of the most fearsome tanks in the German WW2 armoury. With firepower that could destroy most enemies at long range and armour that could withstand all but the closest of attacks, the Tiger is rightfully regarded as one of the most effective fighting machines of the war. |
Afrika Korps by Jason Askew. (P) A Sd.Kfz.222 and a Panzer IV tank during the combat in North Africa. |
Passchendaele by Jason Askew. The German attack on the British trenches at Passchendaele in the rain. |
Eastern Front Tiger by Jason Askew. (P) The Tiger tank was one of the most fearsome tanks in the German WW2 armoury. With firepower that could destroy most enemies at long range and armour that could withstand all but the closest of attacks, the Tiger is rightfully regarded as one of the most effective fighting machines of the war. Please note this drawing has a small crease in the lower left border which goes into the image about 2cm. See the photo provided. |
Stug and Motorbike by Jason Askew. (P) Stug Mk.III |
Gallipoli - Courtneys Trench by Jason Askew. Australian VC winner-Private Albert Jacka, 14th battalion. He killed nine Turks who had bombed and infiltrated an Australian trench at Courtneys post during the great Turkish assault on 19th May. |
Pather Tanks at Kursk by Jason Askew. (P) No text for this item |
Rorkes Drift by Jason Askew. The painting depicts the climax of the Zulu attacks at the defence of Rorkes Drift. The Zulus were unable to effectively penetrate the mealie bag defenses at Rorkes Drift, even though they succeeded in burning down the hospital, and peppering the storehouse with bullet holes. The confined space available to the British garrison caused a certain degree of physical compression, but this in fact worked against the Zulus, as it drove the defenders closer together with the result being that the volley fire from the defenders was concentrated and subsequently very effective at close range, as opposed to the spread out skirmish line type formation used at Isandlwhana. The Zulu attacks also became uncoordinated, being driven forward by charismatic individuals, but lacking the support of the necessary numbers needed to overwhelm the desperate defenders, who now appreciated that they were literally fighting for their lives. |
The Battle of Aliwal by Jason Askew. The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28th January 1846 between the British and the Sikhs. The British were led by Sir Harry Smith, while the Sikhs were led by Ranjodh Singh Majithia. The British won a victory which is sometimes regarded as the turning point of the First Anglo-Sikh War. The Sikhs had occupied a position 4 miles (6.4 km) long, which ran along a ridge between the villages of Aliwal, on the Sutlej, and Bhundri. The Sutlej ran close to their rear for the entire length of their line, making it difficult for them to manoeuvre and also potentially disastrous if they were forced to retreat. After the initial artillery salvoes, Smith determined that Aliwal was the Sikh weak point. He sent two of his four infantry brigades to capture the village, from where they could enfilade the Sikh centre. They seized the village, and began pressing forwards to threaten the fords across the Sutlej. As the Sikhs tried to swing back their left, pivoting on Bhundri, some of their cavalry tried to threaten the open British left flank. A British and Indian cavalry brigade, led by the 16th Lancers, charged and dispersed them. The 16th Lancers then attacked a large body of Sikh infantry. These were battalions organised and trained in contemporary European fashion by Neapolitan mercenary, Paolo Di Avitabile. They formed square to receive cavalry, as most European armies did. Nevertheless, the 16th Lancers broke them, with heavy casualties. The infantry in the Sikh centre tried to defend a nullah (dry stream bed), but were enfiladed and forced into the open by a Bengal infantry regiment, and then cut down by fire from Smith's batteries of Bengal Horse Artillery. Unlike most of the battles of both Anglo-Sikh Wars, when the Sikhs at Aliwal began to retreat, the retreat quickly turned into a disorderly rout across the fords. Most of the Sikh guns were abandoned, either on the river bank or in the fords, along with all baggage, tents and supplies. They lost 2,000 men and 67 guns. Comment from the artist, Jason Askew. This painting shows the extremely violent and brutal clash between British cavalry (16th Lancers) and Sikh infantry at the battle of Aliwal. The Sikh infantry formed 2 triangles, a version of the famous Allied/British squares used at Waterloo, but the Sikhs, after firing a ragged volley at the attacking horsemen, dropped their muskets and assaulted the cavalry with their traditional Tulwars (sabres) and dhal shields. These shields are also used offensively, to punch, and to slice with the edge. Although the British horsemen claimed a victory as they felt they successfully dispersed the Sikh triangles, and forced the Sikh infantry to retreat to the nullah (dry stream bed) in the Sikh rear, this opinion is open to debate. The Sikhs traditionally fought in loose formations, with tulwar and shield-taking full advantage of their abilities as swordsmen, blades being weapons with which the Sikhs are particularly skilled in the use of. The Sikhs actually inflicted more casualties on the 16th Lancers than the lancers inflicted on the Sikh infantry. British eye witnesses spoke of the sight of the grotesquely swollen and distorted dead bodies of men and horses of the Her Majesty's 16th Lancers, stinking in the sun and littering the ground at Aliwal - testimony to the progress of their charge. The regiment lost 27% of effectives out of a total strength of over 400 effectives. The lancers were dreadfully hacked about, many being cruelly maimed for life, losing hands and limbs to the slashing strokes of the Sikh blades. The Sikhs had no compassion for the cavalry horses either - many of the poor animals (over 100 by some accounts) had to be shot, due to having their legs hacked clean off, or being literally disemboweled by Sikh Tulwars. In the painting, the central figure with the wizard-shaped Turban, is in fact an Akali - a sect of extremely religious Sikhs, who disdained the use of armour, and often fought to the death with a fanatical and suicidal devotion. |
Spion Kop - South Africa, 24th January 1900 by Jason Askew. I am the commander here, take your men back to hell, sir! I allow no surrenders :- Lt Colonel Alexander Thorneycroft, of the Thorneycrofts Mounted Infantry, and the 2nd Battalion, Middlesex regiment. They then charged Boer skirmishers in support of the beleaguered Lancashire Fusiliers on the summit of Spion Kop, at 13.00 on the 24th January 1900. |
Tribute to the Stug Aces by Jason Askew. (P) A Stug tank alongside two portraits of Aces who commanded this devastating machine - Hugo Primozic and Georg Bose. |
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