Peter Helck (1893-1988) was an American illustrator who specialized in depicting the racing circuits of Europe. He estimated that he had produced more than 600 sketches, drawings and paintings during his career. He was there in the early days of auto racing with the Vanderbilt Cup Race of 1906. He worked for many of the major automobile magazines, in particular The Autocar, which took him to England and to major races in France and Italy. In the 1930s Helck was commissioned by the Sinclair Oil Company to produce a large-format road map. This map did much to build Sinclair's reputation and to promote driving for pleasure.
His compositions became more well-known, he also successfully pursued a path in commercial work, becoming an acknowledged expert in the portrayal of industrial subjects and machinery. Among others, his advertising work included Packard, TWA, Caterpillar Tractor, Sinclair Oil, GE, Mack Trucks, Alcoa, and Republic Steel. Perhaps his most famous US series was with the Chevrolet truck division of General Motors in the 1950s. His work made him a first-rate salesman, too. The details of these paintings placed the viewer within the scene and suggested Chevrolet was apparently the only truck manufactured. One source of his realism was that he painted on location, not from photographs. Though he obviously combined various subjects for a completed utopian painting.
No comments:
Post a Comment