Royal Rendezvous by Gordon Bauwens.
Throughout her later years on the North Atlantic, Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 cut a lonely swathe across the waters she was designed to traverse. Thanks to her foresighted dual-purpose design, clever marketing and iconic appeal as the 'last true liner', QE2 outlived all her sea-going competitors and seemed destined to be the last ever passenger liner to regularly ply the Atlantic. She also looked to be the final Queen in service for Cunard. However, in 1999 a decision was made to build on QE2's unique success by adding a giant new transatlantic liner, Queen Mary 2, to the Cunard fleet. Then, almost four years after QM2 entered service in 2004 as the new Company flagship, she and QE2 were joined by another new ship, MV Queen Victoria. Thus, since QV's maiden voyage in December 2007 until QE2's retirement in late 2008, three mighty Cunard Queens sailed concurrently for the first time ever. Unlike all previous Queens, which were unique one-off vessels, Queen Victoria was adapted from an existing design first created for Holland America Line's Vista-class cruise liners. While at 90,000 gross tons she is the second largest Cunarder ever built, Queen Victoria is in length and beam very similar to QE2, allowing passage through the Panama Canal. Built as a 5-star floating hotel, Queen Victoria's magnificent interiors boast many pieces of artwork by some of the world's leading artists. Gordon Bauwens is honoured to be represented by 12 maritime works commissioned and selected for public areas aboard this latest Cunarder. In addition to these, this latest painting, Royal Rendezvous, features the debutante Queen Victoria and legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 passing at sea, contrasting two distinct generations of Queens proudly flying the colours of one of the world's greatest shipping lines. As the much-loved QE2 retired in November 2008, the preceding months proved to be the last these two majestic Cunarders served together.
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The Grandeur of the Queens by Gordon Bauwens.
On 13 January 2008, a unique event in maritime history took place when Cunard's three magnificent Queens met in New York Harbor for the first and last time. The legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 led the regal procession under the Verrazano Bridge during her final world cruise. QE2 had also just enjoyed a combined transatlantic crossing with her brand new fleetmate, Queen Victoria, on the first leg of her own maiden world cruise. As the pair approached the entrance to the Hudson, they were joined by the mighty Cunard flagship, Queen Mary 2, to make a grand entrance the likes of which Lady Liberty will never see again. In life, the majestic trio arrived and left in darkness. Artist Gordon Bauwens, whose work hangs aboard all three Cunard Queens, was commissioned to portray the event as many would have preferred, with the liners dramatically bathed in early morning sun.
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