Frederick Gordon Crosby
Encyclopedia
Frederick Gordon Crosby (1895 - August 1943) was one of the world’s foremost automotive illustrators of the early 20th century. He worked for Autocar magazine 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
.
Note: 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". Other information has also kindly been provided by the Gordon-Crosby family.
) went down over the English Channel
in 1943.
In 1908 he started his career as a draughtsman in 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 Iliffe (see Iliffe News and Media), the same company that published The Autocar. Clayton drew Iliffe’s attention to Crosby, who was subsequently commissioned to create a perspective drawing of the BTH magneto. This was to be one of the first drawings of a style that was later to be termed an exploded view
, and begun Crosby’s Autocar career.
made it an instant hit the first time it was published, and it was produced for years afterwards. It humorously criticised the way that functionality of vehicles at the time was always put above aesthetics, much to Crosby’s disappointment.
Through his years with The 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.
engine defaults.
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 eye witnesses. 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 24 hours of Le Mans
), and the Monte Carlo Rally
and Alpine Rally. The cars he best loved to illustrate were the big, pre-World War One racing cars, which feature prominently in much of his work. These cars lent themselves well to an artistic licence for slight exaggeration of their features. His touring scenes reflect the atmosphere of wealth and excess that surrounded these cars at the time.
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. It’s no wonder that his artworks fetch such high prices, and that both imitators and forgers exist.
Crosby exhibited three times at the Royal Academy
, the first in 1916 with his painting of Flt. Lt. Reggie Warneford shooting down an L37 over Ghent
. This was both the first German zeppelin to be shot down by British aircraft, and the first aeronautical picture ever hung in the Royal Academy.
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 were created over the weekend for the Friday issue of The Autocar. There are nearly 300 of these originals that are still held in The Autocar’s strong room.
His work reflects the ease with which he was able to move between different media, from pen and ink to charcoal, crayons or watercolour, as well as a variety of sizes. Some of his most vibrant works being produced at the Targa Florio
in Sicily
, where he and W.F. Bradley were allowed to travel around the track by car during the race. Crosby was commissioned to make several paintings by Vincenzo Florio
of the race, and these are still in possession of the Sicilian Automobile Club.
Crosby also produced a set of 30, full colour caricatures of the foremost racers of the day with their cars, and worked on a number of plaques, sculptures and medallions of motoring subjects commissioned as trophies. Unfortunately, most of these are now missing.
Crosby also created the Jaguar car 'leaping cat' mascot. This first appeared on Jaguar cars in 1937.
During the Second World War, Crosby produced some of his best works, especially the ‘Roads of War’ series, and his pictures of war at sea and in the air.
Crosby was regularly commissioned to produced works that would be sold or auctioned to raise money for charities such as:
Barnardos 1933-1934 French alps scene and;
RAF benevolent fund, Aeroplane Diving - commissioned by King George VI.
Crosby was not know 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 French Grand
Prix in 1922, and second, and even harder, was the death of his son Peter in 1943.
Crosby died in August 1943, in N.W. Surrey
, at the age of 58.
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
.
Note: 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". Other information has also kindly been provided by the Gordon-Crosby family.
Career
Peter showed great artistic promise and was thought by many to be likely to be every bit as good, if not better, than his father. The war cut short that dream when he pronounced dead when his plane (a P-51 MustangP-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
) went down over the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in 1943.
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 Daimler Motor Company
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
’s drawing office. At this time he moved into Arthur Ludlow Clayton’s home in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. 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 Iliffe (see Iliffe News and Media), the same company that published The Autocar. Clayton drew Iliffe’s attention to Crosby, who was subsequently commissioned to create a perspective drawing of the BTH magneto. This was to be one of the first drawings of a style that was later to be termed an exploded view
Exploded view
An exploded view drawing is a diagram, picture or technical drawing of an object, that shows the relationship or order of assembly of various parts....
, and begun Crosby’s Autocar career.
Working for The Autocar
In 1908, Crosby at the age of 23, moved from Daimler to The Autocar. It was at The Autocar, and at Clayton’s house, that Crosby met and maintained a lifelong friendship with Sammy Davis and Monty Tombs. Crosby, as illustrator, and Tombs and sometimes Davis, as writer, were responsible for producing one of The Autocar’s humorous stalwarts: "Keeping up appearances". Here Crosby sketched and Tombs wrote anecdotes about the construction of cars at the time. The characters created in Keeping up AppearancesKeeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...
made it an instant hit the first time it was published, and it was produced for years afterwards. It humorously criticised the way that functionality of vehicles at the time was always put above aesthetics, much to Crosby’s disappointment.
Through his years with The 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 ZeppelinZeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
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.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 eye witnesses. 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 24 hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
), and the Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
and Alpine Rally. The cars he best loved to illustrate were the big, pre-World War One racing cars, which feature prominently in much of his work. These cars lent themselves well to an artistic licence for slight exaggeration of their features. His touring scenes reflect the atmosphere of wealth and excess that surrounded these cars at the time.
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. It’s no wonder that his artworks fetch such high prices, and that both imitators and forgers exist.
Crosby exhibited three times at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, the first in 1916 with his painting of Flt. Lt. Reggie Warneford shooting down an L37 over Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. This was both the first German zeppelin to be shot down by British aircraft, and the first aeronautical picture ever hung in the Royal Academy.
Crosby produced many works in gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
and oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
, but most of his oil paintings are confined to works about wartime aircraft. His less formal works were produced in charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
or crayon
Crayon
A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other materials used for writing, coloring, drawing, and other methods of illustration. A crayon made of oiled chalk is called an oil pastel; when made of pigment with a dry binder, it is simply a pastel; both are popular media for color...
. These were usually were created over the weekend for the Friday issue of The Autocar. There are nearly 300 of these originals that are still held in The Autocar’s strong room.
His work reflects the ease with which he was able to move between different media, from pen and ink to charcoal, crayons or watercolour, as well as a variety of sizes. Some of his most vibrant works being produced at the Targa Florio
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973...
in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, where he and W.F. Bradley were allowed to travel around the track by car during the race. Crosby was commissioned to make several paintings by Vincenzo Florio
Vincenzo Florio
Vincenzo Florio, Jr. was an Italian industrialist in the wine industry of Sicily, famous for establishing the Targa Florio race....
of the race, and these are still in possession of the Sicilian Automobile Club.
Crosby also produced a set of 30, full colour caricatures of the foremost racers of the day with their cars, and worked on a number of plaques, sculptures and medallions of motoring subjects commissioned as trophies. Unfortunately, most of these are now missing.
Crosby also created the Jaguar car 'leaping cat' mascot. This first appeared on Jaguar cars in 1937.
During the Second World War, Crosby produced some of his best works, especially the ‘Roads of War’ series, and his pictures of war at sea and in the air.
Crosby was regularly commissioned to produced works that would be sold or auctioned to raise money for charities such as:
Barnardos 1933-1934 French alps scene and;
RAF benevolent fund, Aeroplane Diving - commissioned by King George VI.
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 know 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 French Grand
Prix in 1922, and second, and even harder, was the death of his son Peter in 1943.
Crosby died in August 1943, in N.W. Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, at the age of 58.