More Than Just Art: Farewell to an Automotive Legend

(Illustration by Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman)

Sometimes you see a really nice car, and you appreciate its beauty.

Other times, you see a great car, build one yourself or you know someone who did, and understand the amount of love, blood, sweat, tears—the amount of someone’s soul—invested in the project, and it elevates an otherwise nice-looking vehicle to something else. To something more.

Art Fitzpatrick (Image/Chuck Spangler)

That same phenomenon was on display this week when we heard about automotive artist and advertising legend Art Fitzpatrick passing away at the age of 96—news which caught the attention of our in-house artists.

Fitzpatrick was the lead artist on a series of iconic car ads which ran in magazines and newspapers over 21 years, mostly concentrated within the Mad Men timeline of the 1960s, and which might have been primarily responsible for Pontiac’s rise to stardom throughout the Muscle Car Era.

We like when work is more than just work. When a car is more than just a car. When an automotive ad is more than just another page in a magazine.

That was Fitzpatrick’s gift to the rest of us—giving us more than just pretty pictures to look at. But really capturing, in a way photographs—and even our own eyes—never could, the majesty of some of our most beloved American automobiles of all time.

For a peek inside Fitzpatrick’s mind, read this great Quinnipiac interview with him from 2012 where he discusses his career in the automotive industry.

Also, you can read more about Fitzpatrick’s life in this Hemmings post.

Take a look through this slideshow to see more of Fitzpatrick’s excellent work:

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