ANGELS V2 1933. Painting On Canvas – John Dillinger ft Johnny Depp
Art story – ‘Angels 2 1933’ 45″ x 50″ inches acrylic painting on canvas. This painting is depicting the story of US Gangster John Herbert Dillinger who was an American gangster active during the Great Depression. He operated with a group of men known as the “Dillinger Gang” or the “Terror Gang” which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations, among other crimes.
Dillinger escaped from jail twice. He was also charged with the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer who shot Dillinger in his bullet-resistant vest during a shootout, prompting him to return fire but he was not convicted of this crime.
The painting feature Leonardo’s angels passing through and over a central triangular structure and an image of Marlene Dietrich from the 1930 film Der blaue Engel bottom right.
The Great Depression began in the United States and which filtered out across the globe, was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place in the 1930s but began following the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, (this was known as Black Tuesday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century.
In contrast with the Great Recession which happened more recently during 2008 and 2009 where worldwide GDP fell by around 1%. The 1930s Great Depression saw (GDP) fall by an estimated 15%. Poverty and the prolonging of prohibition resulted in a continued increase in organised crime.
The Dillinger Gang is also known as (The Terror Gang) and was the name given to a group of American Depression-era bank robbers led by John Dillinger.
The Dillinger gang gained notoriety for a successful string of bank robberies, using modern tools and tactics, in the Midwestern United States from September 1933 to July 1934. During this crime spree, the gang killed ten and wounded a further seven.
They also managed to pull off three jailbreaks which resulted in wounding two guards and the death of a US sheriff.
New law enforcement techniques put in place by the Bureau of Investigation (The FBI’s predecessor) led to the dismantling of the gang where most of the gang members were killed or later imprisoned. Most notably, John Dillinger was killed during a shootout when he exited a cinema. (Photo of the artist Doug Kemp on the spot where John Dillinger was shot).
Read more about the Dillinger Gang on Wikipedia
Way back when!! A photo with my mate Tony Jones, and would you believe it, The Biograph Cinema was showing “The Untouchables”. We caught the matinee and at the end of the show, the audience cheered!!
Public Enemies Movie Ft Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp’s appearance in the 2009 film ‘Public Enemies’ where he played Dillinger was used as the central focal point for the Angels 2 canvas painting.
Dillinger’s famous dying words were, “Tell Billie for me, ‘Bye-bye Blackbird'”.
