If one word had to describe art, that word should surely be passion. Passion teases your heart and speaks to your spirit. It bypasses your intellect and carves out a niche in your soul. So automotive enthusiasts seek out art that reflects that passion. And automotive artists seek out scenes that inspire them to express that passion.
And if any part of the automotive industry incites passion it is racing.
Automotive racing is about speed and power and its history evokes romance. Today races are run over well-constructed tracks protected from the viewers. The drivers climb into their cars with the confidence that they were meticulously tuned by top mechanics who have worked to the point of exhaustion to insure that the machines at the starting post are as perfect as human expertise can achieve. However, in its infancy, racing was a different story. Races were run on blocked off sections of roads. Drivers drove with the hope that their vehicles could make it to the finish line and perhaps even be the first across. This was the era before television when only artists could convey the passionate hope that accompanied each entrant.
One such artist was Rene Vincent. Vincent was a French artist, born in 1879. Very little is known about his life. He began his art career as a fashion illustrator and gained recognition in that genre. But his obsession with automobiles soon drove him to racing and automotive art. Vincent was fond of illustrating race cars but he also did advertising posters. Vincent was featured in a number of top magazines of his day including La Vie Parisienne and the Saturday Evening Post. And he crafted posters for the Au Bon Marche Department Store. As a result of his various commissions he became known as the automobile poster artist of his era.
Nevertheless, the influence of fashion can be seen in his automotive works. In creating advertising illustrations for the cars of his times it is obvious he appreciated the selling power of a beautiful lady along side the automobile. His "Irat Automobiles Georges" depicts a young man seated behind the wheel giving a good night kiss to his high fashion lady friend standing along side the car. "Salmson," considered one of his best works, shows a lady outfitted in a heavily fur trimmed jacket over a long, flowing skirt standing next to the automobile.
Vincent died in 1936 but he would be succeeded by Geo Ham, another noted vintage poster artist. Ham whose birth name was Georges Hamel was born in 1900 in Lavelle, France. Like many small boys of that age and this one, George fell in love with cars, especially the early racecars. For a while, he was a part-time racecar driver and his experiences on the track lent a certain realism to his work.
Ham attended the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris where he studied art. He did numerous illustrations for automotive catalogs and magazines. However, his most famous works are his posters depicting the Grand Pix of Monaco and the 24 Hours of LeMans. Ham died in 1972.