Some MoToR Magazine Covers - 1920s and 1930s

The American version of MoToR magazine no longer uses print.  But in its heyday it was an important automobile trade publication.  Its highlight issue was its Annual Show Number that appeared after most carmakers had announced their new model year lines.

For a number of years, covers of that issue were illustrated by well-known (in the day) artists such as Coles Phillips and McClalland Barclay.  But by the mid-1930s MoToR relied on airbrush ace Arthur Radebaugh, who did the work exclusively for many years thereafter.

Below are some covers from the mid-1920s through the 1930s.  As cars became more "streamlined" starting in the early 1930s, so did the MoToR covers become sleeker, Moderne.

Gallery

January 1924 - by Coles Phillips
Phillips is known for his illustrations of women whose main clothing color is the same as the illustration's background color.

January 1925 - by Coles Phillips
But his MoToR covers did not use that style.

January 1927 - by McClelland Barclay
Barclay was known for his depictions of beautiful women.

January 1928 - by Hayden Hayden (Howard Crosby Renwick)
A lesser-known illustrator.

January 1930 - By Jules Gotlieb
Like the covers shown above, Gotlieb featured a beautiful woman and a miniature car.

January 1931 - By Jules Gotlieb
The woman is more sleek than the car.

January 1934 - unidentified artist
Colors and theme evoke the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair architecture (Deco/Moderne).

November 1936 - by Arthur Radebaugh
This and the following Radebaugh covers feature airbrush art and a red-blue-gold color scheme.

November 1937 - by Arthur Radebaugh
Cars of the past (along the upper ring) flow to a car of the future ... I think.

November 1938 - by Arthur Radebaugh
Symbolism from the forthcoming 1939-40 New York World's Fair.