Erich Mercker, Spring in the Mountains (with dedication from the sailors of the ORP Tempest, 1940)

Erich Mercker (1891-1973), Spring in the mountains

Oil on cardboard, 85.5 x 65 cm/ 79 x 59.5 cm
Signed MERCKER MCHN (Munich). On the back dedication “To the fond memory from the Polish sailors of O.R.P. Tempest” with signatures of 4 sailors* and date 6.I.1940.
*Sailors signed:
– Dobersztyn Czeslaw – petty officer according to the crew roster of September 4, 1939.
– Franciszek Możdżanowski – petty officer according to the crew roster of September 4, 1939.
– Paczkowski Teofil (?) – mat according to the crew roster of September 4, 1939.
– Bienkowski Roman (?) – petty officer according to the crew roster of September 4, 1939.
The painting was given by sailors to an unidentified person in England during the stationing of the ORP Tempest in that country. From late 1939 until January 10, 1940, the ship was docked in Chatham Harbor, undergoing an overhaul combined with rearmament. The painting was likely gifted shortly before the ship set sail for another patrol. The sailors probably chose this painting for its “familiar” character — the landscape resembles the famous lake Sea Eye in the Zakopane Mountains — without realizing that it had been painted by a Munich artist.