Seeking Information - 1930s Cadillac Design or Advertising Illustration

[VintageLiterature]

Hoping someone can provide some additional insight on an incredible piece that I have just acquired. The item is a 1930s era illustration of a Cadillac limousine. The work is very finely done and I believe that this is either an advertising piece or a design rendering from either General Motors or a coachbuilder. I acquired this as-is and don't have any information

 

Does anyone have any ideas regarding the exact model pictured and / or the history of this painting?

 

Thanks,

Michael

[edinmass]

I have owned and handled Cadillac factory illustrations. Have one hanging on a wall in the shop. They were done on gouache, and from what I see it doesn’t look like yours is......would need to remove the frame and mat.....and I could give you a better idea.

[VintageLiterature]

4 minutes ago, edinmass said:

I have owned and handled Cadillac factory illustrations. Have one hanging on a wall in the shop. They were done on gouache, and from what I see it doesn’t look like yours is......would need to remove the frame and mat.....and I could give you a better idea.

Thanks for the info - Unfortunately, the frame is sealed on the back and it won't be possible to remove the piece from the frame / mat without damaging the frame.


 

[K8096]

The car is a 1936 Cadillac V8 town car  

 

 

[VintageLiterature]

8 hours ago, K8096 said:

The car is a 1936 Cadillac V8 town car  

 

 

 

Thanks for the info! Very much appreciated

[58L-Y8]

Have you compared your image with that in the 1936 Cadillac prestige catalogue?   It appears to be gouache, mostly air brush with some manual brush highlights.  Can you tell if the paint is on the surface of an illustration board?  The white highlights should appear to have some thickness when backlighted across the surface, visible even under glass. 

[Terry Bond]

It's important to know whether it's a print or a painting. 

Terry

[Brass is Best]

This looks like a rendering done on Velum. When I was in design school we would be assigned to render different cars, products etc... This may have been done more recently buy a student or industrial designer. Taking it out of the frame is probably the only way to find out more. It could be an advertising piece. Looks like Velum with pastel and pencil possibly marker.

Edited August 17, 2020 by Brass is Best (see edit history)

[jdome]

This is a page out of a Cadillac Prestige catalog. There is likely another model on the backside of this page. The top & bottom banner are cropped off in the frame. Cadillac produced 3 different sales brochures/catalogs through the 30's. One was a typical printing on glossy paper for the tire kickers. Another was the large Prestige catalog, often about 12" or 14" X !6" or 18" in 3-color screen print on heavy paper that was designed to look like painted portraits on canvas as this picture looks.  The tire kicker brochure was often a smaller version of this catalog with cheaper print. The third Catalog was of available designs of semi-custom & custom bodies, mostly Fleetwood but a few Fisher, that could be commissioned but may have actually never been commissioned.

 

As previously stated, the picture is of a 36 Towncar but it is an unusual short WB 5 passenger based on the standard Fisher 5 passenger sedan body. It is not long enough for jump seats. It is unlikely that was a standard offering and probably not in the standard brochures. At least one of these were built because one was offered for sale in Akron, Ohio that I looked at in late 70's or early 80's that I passed on and later regretted not buying. I do not know what happened to the car but I understand it was sold to someone in WA state. 

[John_Mereness]

15 hours ago, K8096 said:

The car is a 1936 Cadillac V8 town car  

 

 

Actually, its proper nomenclature is a "Town Cabriolet"

 

Friends and I restored this one:

 

[keiser31]

17 hours ago, VintageLiterature said:

Thanks for the info - Unfortunately, the frame is sealed on the back and it won't be possible to remove the piece from the frame / mat without damaging the frame.


 

If it has brown paper on the back of the frame, just cut that off, find out the information you need and replace the brown paper. Not impossible.

[K8096]

jdome..... the maroon car pictured above IS the car that was in Akron.  I know the guy who bought it in 1955 up in Chardon.   It was originally all black.   

[edinmass]

I have seen in person about 50 factory Cadillac Fisher and Fleetwood art and colour (Spelling is correct) renderings from the 30’s. None of them ever had a floor or road placed below the car like the one in the above photos.I had a original Harley Earl rendering of a Fleetwood V-16 open car, and sold it. It was a fantastic piece of artwork. Harley Earl’s grandson came to see it when he heard about it. Remember, at the time GM was the Apple, Tesla, or Google of the day........the people in the design studios were the best, and any flawed or sub standard work would have never occurred or gotten out of the building. That angle of the car also is not what one typically sees.....it’s usually a straight side shot. It’s possible that the work is “real” and it’s the artwork for the catalog as mentioned......except it’s my understanding that work was not done in house after 1932. Only way to be sure of what it is, is to remove it. It has no value until determined to be authentic......otherwise is just photo copy to most people. Provenance is everything today.....

 

 

Just noticed jdome’s correct post after typing in my above explanation. 👍

Edited August 18, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[edinmass]

I have your answer. It’s a plate out of the 1936 Fleetwood catalog. It’s a printed page removed from the prestige brochure. It’s value is in the frame and mat.......The plate is worth ten dollars. See the two photos below.......from the same catalog. Ed

[VintageLiterature]

Thank you everyone for your feedback - I have removed this piece from the frame and happy to report that it is on artists board. Please see the attached for the reverse and also some close ups of the white sections (I am not sure of the type(s) of paint used). The blue mat on the front is glued on and cannot be removed.

 

For provenance, I acquired this in an estate sale from a very prominent collector and leading expert on automotive design and advertising art. I would have been shocked to find this was anything other than an original painting. I just wasn't sure whether it was for advertising or design. 

 

FYI, it is approximately 23 1/2" long - much larger than even a prestige brochure.

 

@edinmass - Thank you for finding this image! Can you possibly share a clearer photo of the plate with this same car?

 

 

[edinmass]

Now that it’s removed, I can see the highlights are similar to work hanging at GM headquarters. So it’s a nice piece. It being a catalog image and not a proposal rendering make it a different category than the other type of work I was referring to. To analyze the value, we take into consideration the following.......the year of the car.......1936 is on the lower end of desirability,    .... model of car.....town car, which I like but they are not as popular as a convertible or coupe in this era,   ..........color of the work, it’s not a red, yellow, or green....but the color is great for a town car so I rate the color and highlights as good;   Overall eyeball........how does the image appear on the page and is it pleasing to the eye......YES! Overall impression to me personally as a collector of all things Cadillac......Very nice overall with excellent condition. Came out of a collection of well known person........I will guess Walter Miller, as he had stuff like this for sale, and I passed on them........because of the year only. I value it at 600 to 850 dollars in today’s market. Could go much higher to the one best end collector, or it could hang around for years and not get an offer. I’m glad it’s real and not a plate. The images I posted were from eBay......just type in 1936 Cadillac Fleetwood brochure. Enjoy the artwork.......it’s as rare as the car......or more so. Three thumbs up, and I am glad for you that my initial assessment that it was a print was incorrect. 👍👍👍
 

PS- an advertising piece is much more common than a design studio rendering. That said, they are all very rare.

Edited August 18, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[VintageLiterature]

Thanks @edinmass!! I really appreciate your insights. It's easy to see how this can be mistaken for a print if not viewing in person. This did come from Walter Miller's estate - He was a true gentleman and I've always greatly admired the incredible business and collection he built.

I have my own small collection of original design studio and advertising agency art from the 1920s - 1970s and really love this piece. Thrilled to learn it was used in the 1936 brochure.

 

 

[58L-Y8]

It is ink wash and gouache with watercolor details on quality illustration board all by hand, very nice technique.  It was rendered large enough so when reproduced in smaller sizes any 'roughness' by the hand execution would visually look smooth.  Very nice genuine piece, one that should be with the surviving 1936 V8 Town Cabriolet it illustrates.