AKU-2004-013

Peter Edward Blume (attributed), American, 1906–1992

Hughes H-1 Racer (Portrait of Howard Hughes, 1938)

1942

Oil on canvas, American Precisionist manner

145 × 210 cm

Acquisition

Purchased, 2004

Curator’s Note

Howard Hughes set the world airspeed record on September 13, 1935, flying the H-1 Racer at 352 mph over Santa Ana, California. He subsequently circumnavigated the globe in 3 days, 19 hours, and 14 minutes. He also produced Hell's Angels, acquired RKO Pictures, and built the Hughes Aircraft Company into a major defense contractor. From 1950 onwards he became progressively more reclusive, eventually living in darkened hotel rooms, refusing to cut his nails, and storing his own urine in glass jars. He died in 1976 on a medical transport flight, weighing 90 pounds. His estate was valued at $1.5 billion. No valid will was ever found.

Exhibition

gilded-age-digital-age