While mindful of the struggles of many Americans, yet also keeping an eye on potential overseas sales, Walter Chrysler had a vision for a small, affordable car. Chief Engineer Ken Lee decided to pull in Theodore Pietsch II, a fledgling designer, to create Chrysler’s vision- the Star Car. Sadly, the Star Car never made it to market. Even so, Pietsch’s designs were so good that he was hired to create a whole line of cars and their amenities, launching his career as an automobile designer.

Automobile Appreciation in the Blood

Theodore Pietsch II was born in 1912 to well-known Baltimore architect Theodore Pietsch and his wife Gertrude. Although his father never learned to drive, his mother is rumored to have been the first woman in Baltimore to drive a car. Pietsch’s uncle was also a car enthusiast. Arthur Stanley Zell, president of the Zell Motor Car Company and of Stanley Zell, Inc., was Maryland’s first automobile distributor. 

It seems as though the love of automobiles and design ran deep in Pietsch’s DNA. Pietch was creating two-dimensional drawings for car catalogues in his teens, and later majored in design and mechanical drawing at the Maryland Institute, Baltimore. These drawings, coupled with his education, would land him his first role as an automobile designer.

It Began with Chrysler

After working for Walter Chrysler and Ken Lee for a few years, Pietsch decided it was time to move on to more challenging projects. Over the course of his career, Pietsch worked for almost every major US automaker, including Chrysler, Hudson Motors, Briggs Manufacturing Company, Ford, Studebaker, and American Motors. 

In 1952, the future was looking pretty fantastic during Pietsch’s second stint at Chrysler. Yet when Pietsch received a call from world-renowned designer Raymond Loewy to join him on his Studebaker project, he couldn’t say no. The potential for exciting new challenges was too great to turn down, so Pietsch joined Loewy in his firm and got to work. Studebaker was on the decline, however, and a few years later Pietsch found himself out of work in the automobile industry. 

A Changing Industry

Even though Pietsch was able to find auto design work again, the industry had changed so much that he found himself exceedingly unhappy and it began to affect his health. It was then that he decided to retire.

Regardless of how he ended his automotive career, his creations and designs were essential to the industry as a whole. Out of his limitless enthusiasm for automotive design and his creative genius, he was well-admired in the auto industry.

Leaving a Legacy

Thanks to his son, Theodore Pietsch III, Pietsch’s work has been catalogued and now resides at the Wolfsonian Institute. If you would like to peruse Pietsch’s sketches and other works, you can browse the catalogue.

Also, if you would like more information on Pietsch’s personal story, Theodore Pietsch III wrote his father’s biography, available for purchase on Amazon.

Best of all, if you would like to add a Theodore Pietsch II original work to your own personal collection, you can find two of his pieces here. 

Enhance Your Collection

If you are looking for the perfect mid-century modern piece to begin, or add to, your own art collection, visit our GALLERY. We have beautiful, original pieces by Raymond Loewy, Vincent Raney, and many others.

The post Theodore Pietsch: From Trimming Blueprints to Automobile Design appeared first on Form Function Art.

Using pencil and gouache, these stylists brought their visions to life. Every nuance and expression of the artist was captured, imagining automobiles into high-tech transportation devices or into sleek, modern sports cars. Despite the original intent of the automobile being simply to transport people, some people saw them as much more.

The Birth of the Concept Car

Although the first automobiles were an engineering marvel, they were not exactly eye-catching. Henry Ford was more concerned with having their success based on “engineering prowess,” not necessarily their visual appeal.

But after the devastating impact of the Great Depression, on both the economy and the outlook of Americans, one car designer decided to use his Hollywood roots to bring style and excitement to the world of automobiles.

Harley Earl began his career customizing cars for Hollywood stars in his father’s automobile shop. After joining General Motors in 1927, he began the first dedicated design department for an automaker.

Earl’s goal was to provide sleek, unified designs for automobiles. “Earl wanted smooth, flowing lines, with exterior parts ‘built-in’ to the design, blending with the whole,” noted historian Peter Grist.

Realizing the potential for poor designs and ideas to tarnish the great name of General Motors, Earl proposed the idea of the concept car. Instead of producing cars that might be too radical, only one would be produced as a concept car, saving the company money and potential bad publicity.

Although this idea was born before WWII, concept cars didn’t really take off until afterward. And when they did, they really made an impression.

Cars of the Future

After seeing the sleek, sporty cars of Europe, GIs returning from WWII had a major impact on the design of American automobiles. Americans were eager to see more exciting car designs from manufacturers. Some concept cars were updated versions of classics, and some were more cutting edge.

Beginning in 1948 with William B. Stout’s fiberglass “car of the future,” automobile designs became more futuristic. Raymond Loewy’s Studebaker Avanti concept had a unique, streamlined look.

In the 1950’s, concept cars were either “out of this world” or made for people who spent a lot of time in their cars. The Lincoln Futura (modified to be the Batmobile for the 1966 TV series Batman) and Ford Mystere are two of the most recognized concept cars of this time. Their fins and plastic domes gave the impression of driving a rocket down the street. Another well-known concept car is the Chevrolet Bel-Air, seemingly made for enjoying double-features at the drive-in. 

What Makes These So Timeless?

Even though many of these car design sketches were never realized at the production level, they still hold some magic in their pen strokes. These cars were designed with “naïve optimism”, when worries of foreign competition, oil shortages, and environmental regulations didn’t exist. Even more, these are “[works] of art that not only [contain] the height of skill and formal craftsmanship, but also [are combined] with cultural and historical significance,” says Christopher W. Mount. He also says, “the art of drawing by hand has all but disappeared in many of the design professions,” and “these drawings importantly signify a time when artistic skill and expression met beautifully and significantly with America’s most important and defining industry, the automotive industry.”

Add Automotive and Architectural Pieces to Your Collection

Interested in an original “concept car” design? Look no further than right HERE. If you are looking for the perfect mid-century modern piece to begin, or add to, your own art collection, visit our GALLERY. We have beautiful, original pieces by Raymond Loewy, Vincent Raney, and many others.

The post The Mid-Century Concept Car and the Lost Art of Formal Craftsmanship appeared first on Form Function Art.

Despite its distinctive design, the Avanti is a luxury vehicle (originally produced by the Studebaker Corporation) that now remains only in the garages of collectors. Its history, although short, confirms that the Avanti was an impressive piece of work created under serious constraints.

The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Studebaker

Beginning as a blacksmith shop in 1852, the Studebaker Corporation entered the auto industry in 1902. During its peak, Studebaker acquired luxury carmaker Pierce-Arrow and produced several vehicles, including the Erskine and Rockne. Studebaker competed with the big names until 1933, when it succumbed to the devastation of the Great Depression and filed for bankruptcy.

New Management, New Designs

Later that year, Studebaker got back on track with new management at the helm. With Sherwood Egbert as the new owner, they sold Pierce-Arrow and made other consolidation moves to revive the company. In addition to the financial “housekeeping”, Studebaker decided to employ a new designer- one that would bring the company back from the brink. Egbert contracted with Raymond Loewy to create new, exciting designs to entice customers to welcome Studebaker vehicles back into their driveways.

While working with Studebaker, Loewy designed two of their most popular models– the Starlight and the Starliner. Because his previous designs were so well-received by the public, Loewy was asked to create what Egbert hoped would be a huge money-maker for Studebaker.

The Attempt to Move Studebaker Forward

There was no time to waste. Studebaker needed something to spice up showrooms and bring cash into the floundering company. Egbert envisioned something sporty and exciting, yet utilizing the frame of the current Studebaker Lark. With these instructions, Egbert gave Loewy exactly 6 weeks to come up with both a design and a full-scale clay model. Loewy quickly put together a design team, locked them away for 16 days in a rented bungalow in Palm Springs, and there the Avanti came into being.

Italian for “forward”, the Avanti demonstrated a much more modern feel and design. For example, the body was made out of fiberglass, not steel. Additionally, the Avanti had a smooth nose with no front grille. Loewy believed them to be too “commonplace”. The Avanti also came standard with front disc brakes. Finally, there was an unusual bump on the left side of the hood. Loewy explained, “If you were on a straight highway standing at the steering wheel, that panel was oriented forward where the roadway would bend with the horizon, parallel to the centerline of the chassis frame. It made the car and driver integral, like the sight of a gun.”

In just under 14 months, this project was completed and production began. Unfortunately, customers became frustrated because of delivery delays, causing slower sales. Egbert’s goal of selling 20,000 in a year fell far short as the Avanti only sold 4,643 over its lifetime. He left the company in 1963 for health reasons, and the Indiana factory shut down a month later. Studebaker officially closed its doors in 1967.

Two Studebaker dealers, Leo Newman, and Nathan Altman bought the rights to the Avanti design and began producing the Avanti II. The Avanti went through another iteration, after being featured in the sci-fi movie GATTACA, before production finally ceased in 2006.

A Loewy Favorite

Raymond Loewy not only designed the Avanti, but he also owned several himself. One he kept at his home in Palm Springs, and the other went to his home in France. It seems as though he was very proud of his creation, even if the masses didn’t fully appreciate it.

Concept as Art

Imagine delighting in the classic design of the Studebaker Avanti when perusing your collection. The artist created a maquette for the Avanti lithograph after his original 1962-1963 design. Using this design as a model, mylar sheets (one for each color), were prepared by Alberto Barrera, under the artist’s direction, and then chemically transferred onto emulsion-coated aluminum lithographic plates at the American Atelier. Silver foil was applied by hot stamping.

Proofs were pulled. Corrections and additions were made by hand to the first proofs by the artist. A second proof was pulled under the supervision of Technical Director, Mauro Guiffreda at the American Atelier. Finally, each print in the edition was inspected and initialed by hand in pencil by Loewy at The American Atelier in December 1978. You can own the Avanti lithograph by checking out the product page.

*An outline of Avanti Motors History

The post Avanti: Studebaker’s Underdog and Loewy’s Personal Vehicle appeared first on Form Function Art.

While Chrysler may be most well-known for its Tank Arsenal on Van Dyke, aircraft engine plant in Detroit, and Dodge Division line of trucks, they also produced other critical assets for the troops. For example, Chrysler manufactured 15-40 man unit cookstoves and anti-submarine netting. They also created very challenging and vital processing equipment for the Manhattan Project, along with airframe components for B-29 bombers, including none other than the “Enola Gay”.

Reintroducing the Consumer Vehicle

As buyers had been deprived of new vehicles since 1942, they were ready for the newest models. Post-war families may have been looking for vehicles with comfort and durability, but some newer, flashier embellishments didn’t hurt. Enter John Chika, A.B. “Buzz” Grisinger, and Herb Weissinger. This trio of designers gave Chrysler vehicles a much-needed facelift.

Despite the fact that they were only allowed to modify the models using bolt-on modifications, they created some of the most popular and memorable Chrysler vehicles in history, along with some more modern designs that didn’t make the cut.

Extravagance without the Price Tag

The most noticeable change Chika, Grisinger, and Weissinger made was a chrome-y, cross-hatch grille. Along with this new grille was a flashy dashboard with an asymmetrical layout that stood out from the competition.

In addition, Chrysler had several other differentiating aspects.  For one, all Chrysler cars used valve-in-block engines, which produced peak power at low engine speed, providing less stress and longer engine life. These engines were superseded by overhead valve designs, but at the time provided the durability consumers were looking for. Also, all Chrysler lines (except Plymouth) offered a fluid-drive transmission, which replaced the flywheel with a fluid coupling. This fluid drive transmission drove like an automatic but was simpler, less expensive, more efficient and more reliable than the full automatics that became available in the late 1940s.

Transporting Americans through the 40s

Chrysler’s post-war vehicles were the most popular in America. From 1946-1948, over 2.2 million of these cars were built in the US, which blew past Ford. Chrysler produced 400,000 more vehicles than Ford, in less time. At the time, these cars were enormously successful. Even now, there are websites either devoted wholly or partially to each model, suggesting the popularity of these unforgettable cars is still alive and well. There is something to be said for a well-made vehicle, especially one that helped pull Americans out of wartime.

Add Automotive and Architectural Pieces to Your Collection

Interested in a John Chika original Chrysler design? Look no further than right HERE. If you are looking for the perfect automotive, architectural or industrial piece to begin, or add to, your own art collection, visit our GALLERY. We have beautiful, original mid-century modern pieces by Raymond Loewy, Vincent Raney, and many others.

The post John Chika: Taking Chrysler from Military Munitions Back to Motors appeared first on Form Function Art.

Enter Texas Oil Company

In 1901, Joseph S. Cullinan, a former Standard Oil worker and Arnold Schlaet, a New York investment manager, joined forces to create Texas Oil Company. Intending to buy and sell refined oil, mainly to Standard Oil interests in the north, the two quickly expanded into oil production. Within 3 decades, Texas Oil became the first company to market in the contiguous 48 states.

So What IS Texaco?

As the company grew, the nickname “Texaco” became the name by which customers knew the brand. A salesman had seen the shortened name on a telegram, and it stuck. In 1959, Texaco became the official corporate brand name. In addition, the classic “T” in a star logo became globally recognized as Texaco grew to one of the largest oil companies of the late 20th century. As a native Texan, I have bought many a gallon of gas at Texaco stations, so this piece is another favorite of mine.

About the Piece

This Texaco station piece was created for anyone who appreciates the art and wants to hang it on their wall. Perfect for enjoying at home or in your shop. With the precision of a rendering, this piece could easily pass for one. Bring this piece to your space by visiting our Gallery.

About the Artist

Ray Elliot is the creator of this particular piece, and is a retired architect and designer based out of Georgia.

The post Texaco: Fueling Adventure for Over 100 Years appeared first on Form Function Art.

Interesting Beginnings

Strangely enough, the Gremlin was launched on April 1, 1970 (source) and was allegedly designed by Richard Teague on the back of an airsick bag while flying back to Detroit (source). In order to compete with the VW Beetle, the Gremlin needed to be reliable, affordable, and also a car with a distinguishable design that Americans would be proud to own. (source) To keep costs down, Teague built the Gremlin using parts that were interchangeable with several other American Motor cars, most notably- the Hornet. (source)

Leaving the Competition in the Dust

In contrast to its subcompact competitors, the Gremlin came standard with a 6-cylinder engine, making the powertrain one of its key selling points. (source) These particular engines had earned a reputation for being reliable and durable, not to mention affordable. (source) Because of these competitive advantages, over 670,000 Gremlins were sold in 8 years. (source) That’s quite a tidy profit off of one of the world’s ugliest cars. (source)

But It Has Character

If you ever owned an AMC Gremlin, or perhaps spent a good amount of your childhood riding around in one, this piece will really brighten up your collection. Visit our Gallery to purchase the one and only Gremlin.

About the Piece

Once a car is designed and moves into production, artwork is needed to illustrate the car to potential buyers. This photo-realistic painting of a 1970 Gremlin appears to be an example of brochure artwork. At first glance, many viewers assume they are looking at a photograph of the car. However, this piece has been airbrushed by hand.

About the Artist

This particular piece was created by an unknown artist, adding a touch of mystique to an already unique subject.

The post The Gremlin: Detroit’s First Minicar appeared first on Form Function Art.

When my brother was in college at North Texas State University (now called University of North Texas), he had his very own Cutlass Supreme. It was a 1972 model and boy, I thought that car was sexy. The Oldsmobile Cutlass was both sporty and luxurious, with features such as AM/FM stereo, 8-Track tape player, and large speakers that really made an impression. I later bought my own in 1976 and enjoyed it every second, until I had an accident that totaled the car.

Needless to say, this piece is one of my favorites.

A Game-Changer for Oldsmobile

Until 1976, Chevrolet had the lead in automobile sales. However, the designers at Oldsmobile were not going to let them have the lead for too much longer. With new style enhancements, such as grille upgrades and rectangular quad headlamps, Oldsmobile was targeting an audience that wanted something stylish and different. With these modifications to not only the Supreme, but to the other Cutlass models, Oldsmobile shot into the lead with almost 900,000 automobiles produced that year. (source)

About the Piece

This John Perkins original was created with marker and gouache on paper. His attention to detail and accuracy make this piece a must-have for your collection. Add this piece to your gallery here.

About the Artist

Growing up in Lansing Michigan, John Perkins had family members who worked at Oldsmobile. This helped quickly develop his love of cars. At the age of 5, he began drawing cars and later went on to design automobiles for GM.

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