Arthur Radebaugh
1939 Dodge Luxury Liner - Brochure
LaDriere Studios
Airbrush

Radebaugh was an enigmatic and futuristic illustrator whose signature sweeping roads veer into semi-abstraction. The stylized backgrounds and luminous airbrush work on the cars lend the entire 1939 Luxury Liner brochure an air of things to come. This campaign garnered significant attention for the young Radebaugh, who continued illustrating commercial and syndicated work in Detroit until the mid 1960s.

Theodore Leipold
1927 REO Speedwagon - Brochure
Theodore Leipold Studio
Gouache

In a time when smoke, factories, and urban vistas still bespoke progress, the REO Speedwagon is portrayed as the ideal creature of labor, commerce and the Machine Age. The Speedwagon was capable of speeds of 60 miles per hour, making a trip from farmland to city markets possible in just a few hours. Less well-to-do farmers relied on trains and middlemen to carry their produce to markets. In this gouache painting, the Speedwagon is marketed as the perfect intermediary between the agricultural world of labor and the commerce and industry of the city.

Detroit was once known as “The Paris of the Midwest”, a nickname that reflected the city’s beauty and prominence. The moniker “Motor City” stuck longer. The first motorcar raced down Woodward Avenue on March 6, 1896 at speeds reaching eight miles per hour, and ever since, the city and motoring have been inextricably linked.

With new automobiles coming off the assembly line in ever increasing numbers, Detroit created gorgeous artwork to inspire consumers about its product. These examples of early Detroit advertising art show the stylistic variety and exceptional skill of pre-war illustrators.

In early 1942, when the last civilian automobile rolled down the line, Detroit transitioned to war production. Many illustrators found themselves serving in the military.