ABOUT THE ARTIST
Many artists can claim success, even fame, but only the exceptional few become icons. In the milieu of automotive painting and design, Art Fitzpatrick is that rarest of figures, a true icon. During a career spanning an astounding seven decades, “Fitz,” now 89 years young, has produced everything from car designs to best-selling commemorative stamps, in the process accumulating some 50 major art and design awards. Yet he’s most famous for his more than 700 auto advertisements, particularly the 1959-1971 “Wide Track” campaign for Pontiac—considered by many (me included) to be the most recognizable, successful, and influential auto-advertising artwork of all time.
You can’t wait long to start a 70-year career, and Fitzpatrick didn’t; his genius revealed itself even at a young age. After a year studying at The Society of Arts and Crafts and the Detroit School of Art, at just 18 (“I lied about my age,” he says) Fitz got a job as an apprentice designer for John Tjaarda at the Briggs Body Company; he worked on Chrysler products and the Lincoln Zephyr. At 19, he moved to California and began working with Howard “Dutch” Darrin, designing the two Darrin Packard four-doors. World War II brought service as an officer in Naval Aviation Training and the Naval Office of Research and Invention. Enamored with Fitzpatrick’s work, in 1945 Mercury signed him up for all of its ads—before he was even out of the Navy. He never looked back. By 1953, Fitz was turning out artwork for Mercury, Lincoln, Nash, Plymouth, Kaiser, and Buick. It was during this era that Fitzpatrick formed one of the advertising world’s most famous partnerships. In 1949, Fitzpatrick had brought Van Kaufman in to work on the Mercury account. Van, an urbane former Disney animator who had traveled extensively in Europe, had a flair for backgrounds and people. The pair collaborated primarily on Mercury ads until 1953, when Fitz received “an offer he couldn’t refuse” to work exclusively for Buick. Bringing Van along continued what became a 24-year partnership and a lifelong friendship.
Contacter : Art Fitzpatrick
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