Mars art: “The Martian Base,” a 1950s painting by space artist Leslie Carr

Here’s a beautiful piece of Mars art: “The Martian Base,” a painting by British space artist Leslie Carr depicting a domed Martian city with rooftop gardens. Based on a drawing by fellow artist R.A. Smith, the painting was reproduced for the nonfiction book The Exploration of Space (1951), by Arthur C. Clarke.

Interestingly, Leslie Carr served in the Auxiliary Fire Service in London during World War II. He painted several well-known works depicting the destruction caused by the German Blitz in late 1940. One of those paintings appears in the November 11, 1941, issue of The New York Times and was part of a traveling exhibition of works by British firemen artists that was shown in Washington, New York, and on the West Coast.

Thanks to Matt Novak of the blog Paleo-Future for the scan of Carr's "The Martian Base."