Dakota Aircraft Art Appraisal

Vintage Painting of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota)

This is a vintage aviation painting executed on a flat panel, likely plywood or a similar composite board. The central subject is a Douglas C-47 Skytrain military transport aircraft, also known as the Dakota, depicted mid-flight. The aircraft is rendered in dark olive drab or black silhouette tones, featuring visible white star-and-bar US military insignia on the fuselage and tail. It is flying over a simplified landscape of dark green and brown fields under a pale blue-grey sky. The painting style is folk or amateur-leaning, with a focus on subject matter over fine detail. Physically, the panel shows significant signs of age and wear; there are numerous white scuffs, abrasions, and paint losses across the surface, particularly in the sky region. The edges are unfinished and exhibit chipping, suggesting it may have been an original piece of trench art or a handmade sign from the mid-20th century (circa 1940s-1950s). There are visible nail holes or pin marks along the vertical edges, indicating it was previously mounted to a wall or structure. No visible artist's signature or maker's marks are discernible from the front. The patina is heavy, with surface grime and a dulling of the original pigment quality.