This drawing came from a larger portfolio of some 50 drawings, all of cars, most initialed and dated 1969 or 70 on reverse, which with some piecing together I've figured out were done by a Jerry Thayer Garvin of Nottingham, NH--all as the imagined holdings of a fictional "Wildfire Corporation" founded in 1898. Found in the portfolio was an elaborate set of notes detailing the makers and models of the cars held in this fictional Wildfire Collection, along with criteria for selection, an invented logo, a mock up for a 35 year anniversary brochure (imagined with a 1935 release date and described as a anxiously awaited collector's item), a list of Wildfire "divisions and subsidiaries" around the country with real names and locations, and more. Some digging has led me to a Jerry Garvin who graduated from Nottingham High School in 1969, so would have done this over the course of the following year. Clearly he was car obsessed, and also did obsessive research!
I am sure that the drawings are based on photographic source material, but he seems to have been very particular in selecting the color palettes and other finishes on each, and really committed to honoring the attributes of each car. What makes them most distinctive and interesting to me--in addition to the elaborate framework he constructed around them--are the backgrounds that set them off; my favorites being the abstract ones, which take their cues from the cars themselves but give them a modernist feel, and also feeling specific to him. Pretty fun!
18" x 12" and in very good condition. Colored pencil and graphite on construction type drawing paper. I've included a few photos from the notes accompanying Garvin's portfolio, not included. Shipped flat.
