Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman: Early Pontiac Grand Prix Illustrations

So far as I know when drafting this post, he is still alive and probably illustrating automobiles. That would be Art Fitzpatrick, born in 1920 or maybe a year or two earlier. Although he did automobile advertising art for several American car makers in the 1940s and 50s, his fame is largely due to his work for Pontiac in the 1960s and 70s in collaboration with Van Kaufman. Fitzpatrick rendered the cars and Kaufman provided the backgrounds.

I didn't notice a biography of either artist on a quick Google search. In place of that, some links dealing with Fitzpatrick's career and work are here, here and here. Of particular interest is this link which features an interview with him.

The present post features images created by Fitzpatrick ("AF" was the signature he used) and Kaufman ("VK") for Pontiac's 1962 and 1963 Grand Prix models. Fitzpatrick mentioned that the new (for 1962) Grand Prix model's name implied Europe, so he and Kaufman researched European backgrounds they thought would be suitable for advertisements. In one telling observation, he stated that their Pontiac illustrations were unusual for the times because the people in the scenes were not admiring the cars, but instead were doing other things that fit the context of the scene being shown.

I include 1962 Grand Prix illustrations because that was the first year for that model. The 1963 cars were based on a new body (note differences in the windshield), and I consider its styling especially nice; a thorough repudiation of the baroque styling excesses of the 1950s.

Gallery

1962 Pontiac Grand Prix
Shown along the Corniche high route along the French Riviera.

1962 Pontiac Grand Prix
Another Riviera setting, though I'm not sure where (Cannes?).

1962 Pontiac Grand Prix
France, again. Note the Citroën Traction-Avant in the background.

1962 Pontiac Grand Prix
Still in France, but again I can't pin down the location. Please comment if you know where.

1962 Pontiac Grand Prix
Big change: Back in the good old USA.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix
This illustration might be from a brochure. Ditto the image immediately above it.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix
One source has the setting as the canal along the Loire River.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix
Might be Portofino. Note the sketchy style of both the car and background components. And the cyclist blocking part of the car: bold for a car ad then.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix
In front of the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, down the hill a short ways from the Monte Carlo casino.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix advertisement
On the Pont Alexandre III in Paris.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix advertisement
That's Paris' Opéra Garnier in the background.

Cross posted at Car Style Critic