Paintings from Barry Rowe, Charles Maher and Peter Hearsey of the Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS) will be featured during the 2010 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on March 11-14, 2010, in Amelia Island, Florida. The paintings will be part of the 15th annual AFAS Amelia Island Concours art show sponsored by Mazda North America.
Barry Rowe depicted the talented, yet mysterious winner of the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix in his feature painting. The 40” x 30” acrylic on canvas titled, “The First Monaco Grand Prix” captures the soon-to-be-crowned champion “Williams” behind the wheel of a Bugatti Type 35B as he powers through a turn at the famed street course.
“The Monaco Grand Prix is a special race with a rich heritage,” said Rowe. “Few stories from this splendid event are as interesting as the first race, especially since it was won by a virtual unknown who entered the race under an alias. Historical races have been an interest of mine since childhood and I truly enjoy exploring them on canvas. It’s rewarding to bring those pieces to Amelia, where attendees share my passion for the sport.”
William Grover-Williams entered the first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 under the pseudonym “Williams.” The Anglo-Frenchman raced motorcycles and cars as a youngster under the alias to keep his activities hidden from family members and to mask his true age. He reached Monaco in 1929 as a mystery to his competitors and beat the highly favored 7.1-liter Mercedes of Rudi Caracciola.
The No. 12 Bugatti Type 35B piloted by Williams was clad in what would later be known as the famous “British Racing Green” paint. The 35B racer was the final version of the Type 35 series built in 1927; only 45 examples were produced. The 2.3-liter engine was supercharged to push the car up to 138 mph.
A native of England, Rowe studied graphic design at the College of Art in Coventry. He worked for several years as an art director in the advertising field before becoming a freelance artist in 1966 in order to pursue his passion for painting automobiles.
His career as a painter began when he won the Sotheby’s Art Award for his portrait of Juan Fangio. This led to commissions from Louis Vuitton of Paris, Royal Mail, Royal Doulton and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. At the annual Pebble Beach Concours, Rowe’s credentials include eight Tour posters, four official Concours posters, six Awards of Excellence and the Lincoln Award in 2006. He was recently chosen by the Pebble Beach Concours to create their 2010 Tour d’Elegance poster for the ninth time. He recently completed an “Artist in Residence” commission aboard Royal Caribbean’s latest cruise liner Oasis of the Seas, where he painted a 1935 Auburn Boat-tail Speedster 1935 live.
Charles Maher will feature the iconic Porsche 917, as well two pieces celebrating Concours Grand Marshal Sir Stirling Moss in a Maserati Birdcage.
In each of his 15” x 20” originals, Maher celebrates the conquering race car in a series similar to the Trans-Am pieces he debuted at Amelia Island in 2008. Seven of the historic cars, both coupes and roadsters, are depicted in authentic racing liveries at speed. A single 48” x 12” print will include all of the 917 images on one piece.
“I remember watching the Porsche 917 dominate racing during the early 1970s,” said Maher. “The cars were so advanced and blinding fast that Porsche went from being the ‘David’ to truly a ‘Goliath’ in sports car endurance racing. Concours Chairman Bill Warner suggested that I create this series of pieces after he viewed my Trans Am works two years ago. It was a lot of fun creating a couple pieces that honor the company’s accomplishments during the golden age of sports car racing.”
In addition to his stunning 917 series, Maher will debut two pieces honoring Stirling Moss. One of the works stars Moss in a Maserati Tipo 61 “Birdcage” racecar at the 1960 Cuban Grand Prix.
Maher has been an independent artist since 1988. His work has been displayed at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, Concours d’Elegance at Ault Park in Cincinnati, the Concours at Cranbrook and the Eyes on Design Exhibition in Grosse Pointe, Mich.
Peter Hearsey will showcase “Dreyfus at Monaco,” an 18” x 24” acrylic on canvas painting, depicting the famous French racer behind the wheel of a Bugatti Type 59 in the Monaco Grand Prix.
“I had the chance to meet Rene Dreyfus in the early 1990s and he was a great man,” said Hearsey. “At the time, I worked with Rene to produce a painting of him competing at Grand Prix de Dieppe, which he liked very much. I felt that featuring Rene driving the fine looking Bugatti Type 59 was fitting due to his success there.”
Hearsey paints Dreyfus maneuvering through a left turn in the No. 8 Bugatti. By using a swirl of black and mixture of blue colors, he captures beautifully the connection between a master driver and his machine.
After growing up in London and studying at Kingston-upon-Hull College of Art from 1960-64, Hearsey enjoyed a successful creative career in advertising and later as a freelance illustrator. In 1977, he moved to the Isle of Man, where the island’s rich motorsports heritage inspired him to paint full time and specialize in automobiles.
A master impressionist, Hearsey is known worldwide for his ability to move seamlessly from the earliest decades of motoring to current Formula One cars. His attention to detail combined with his exploration of color and tone gives his work a distinctive and personal quality. Hearsey has been a member of the AFAS since 1993. His many awards include four “Awards of Excellence” from the Meadowbrook Hall Concours and four AFAS “Athena Awards of Excellence” at Pebble Beach.
He has been commissioned by Ford, Rolls Royce and the Indianapolis Hall of Fame Museum, among others. Hearsey has also created the official poster for Lord March for the Goodwood Festival of Speed since the event’s inception in 1993. He recently completed a new set of stamps commissioned by the Isle of Man Philatelic Bureau.
The Automotive Fine Arts Society will host its 15th annual art show during the 2010 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on March 11-14, 2010 in Amelia Island, Florida. Mazda North America will once again sponsor the popular exhibit, which will showcase automotive subjects in a variety of mediums including oil, watercolors, acrylics, wood, gouache, pen and ink, clay and metal. The AFAS was established in 1983 and consists of the most celebrated automotive artists in the world.
[Source: AFAS]
