Frederick Gordon Crosby
Frederick Gordon Crosby (1885 – August 1943)[1] was an English automotive illustrator. He worked for the magazine Autocar for most of his life. His illustrations and paintings reflect the excitement and glamour that surrounded the birth and early development of the automotive industry.
Early life
Crosby attended Christ's Hospital (Bluecoat) school, just outside London.
Early work
Crosby had no formal training as an artist, although he did attend life classes at art school some time after the start of his professional career.
In 1908 he started his career as a draughtsman in The Daimler Motor Company's drawing office. At this time he moved into Arthur Ludlow Clayton's home in Coventry. This was an environment full of young men, all wildly enthusiastic about the cars of the day.
Ludlow Clayton's first job was for the Automobile Engineer, published by
Working for Autocar
In 1908, Crosby at the age of 23, moved from Daimler to
Through his years with Autocar, his talent and reputation grew. While not fond of travelling abroad, he would travel wherever his work took him. This included Paris, where he would sketch the latest models about to be released to the public, much to the annoyance of many of the vehicle stand attendants.
After some 30 years of travelling and working to press deadlines, the work began to take its toll on Crosby. In the last few years before the Second World War, it became clear to many of his colleagues that all the enjoyment had gone out of the work. However, during the war, his spirits seemed to rally and he produced some of his best works of battles both in the air and at sea.
Outside Autocar
From 1914 – 1918, Crosby was engaged in the investigation of German military aircraft, including Fighter and Zeppelin engine defaults.
Crosby's work
Crosby bridges the divide between illustrator and artist. He was an illustrator with such outstanding creative and artistic ability that he was able to raise his historic records into works of art.[2]
Crosby painted some very fine Landscapes, for example the oil paintings he did in 1918-1919 of the Scottish Highlands. At least two works are known to exist. One is in a private collection. The others whereabouts are currently unknown.
Crosby worked at a time when road transport was still in its infancy. The cars he illustrated then, are today the pride of many car collections. His work reflects the excitement of this time, which almost lost with today's modern cars. While some of Crosby's paintings represent events he actually saw, many reflect stories told to him by eyewitnesses. These he reproduced in his own unique style, shot through with exaggerated excitement and atmosphere.
He is well known for his coverage of many of the great car races of the day, including Le Mans (see
Crosby, working at one of the greatest periods in the history of the car, did an enormous amount to glamorise motoring and motorsport of his time. His artwork fetches high prices, and both imitations and forgeries exist.
Crosby exhibited three times at the
Crosby produced many works in gouache and oil paint, but most of his oil paintings are confined to works about wartime aircraft. His less formal works were produced in charcoal or crayon. These were usually created over the weekend for the Friday issue of Autocar. There are nearly 300 of these originals that are still held in Autocar’s strong room.
His work reflects the ease with which he was able to move between different media, from
Crosby also created the Jaguar car 'leaping cat' mascot. This first appeared on Jaguar cars late in 1938.
During the
Crosby was regularly commissioned to produce works that would be sold or auctioned to raise money for charities such as:
RAF benevolent fund, Aeroplane Diving - commissioned by
Museum displays
A large collection of the works of Frederick Gordon Crosby is displayed at the first floor of the Louwman Museum in The Hague.
Personal life
He married Marjory Dickenson, youngest of seven, in 1913. His first son Peter was born in 1914 and his second son Michael in 1920.
Crosby was not known to show much emotion, but there were two notable exceptions in his life. The first was when some of his party were killed in a plane crash returning from the
Crosby died in August 1943, in N.W. Surrey, at the age of 58.
References
- ^ Automobile Quarterly Volume IV, Number 4, F. Gordon Crosby-An Appreciation and a Portfolio by Peter Garnier; http://www.grandprixhistory.org/crosby.htm; http://colinchapmanmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=200
- ^ "The Art of Gordon Crosby", Peter Garnier. The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, 1978.
Sources
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2013) |
As one of the few published sources of information about his life, this article borrows heavily from Peter Garnier's book The Art of Gordon Crosby.
- F. Gordon Crosby; Peter Garnier (1978). The Art of Gordon Crosby. ISBN 978-0-600-32038-8.
Other information has also kindly been provided by the Gordon-Crosby family.