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A
rt Deco was different from other art movements
because it wasnt a movement. An art movement
is generally conceived or initiated by an individual or
group that needs to demonstrate or validate its own
artistic expressions. That concept may be accepted
generally by the artistic community, or even a broader
sociological community, and at some point is recognized
as a movement. Art Deco, by contrast, had no initiator,
was accepted by an extremely broad social community,
and was not even recognized and named for what it
was until it had been extant for over forty years. Its
fair to say that what became known as Art Deco was,
in fact, a social development that found expression in
the artistic community: in the ne arts, the decorative
arts, the graphic arts, architecture, interior design,
industrial design, fashion and textiles, and lm and
photography. At some time between the two world wars
most products reected Art Deco inuence in their form,
marketing or production, and city skylines, from Rio to
Shanghai, were forever changed.
In 1918, the Great War was over, a large part of
the developed world was devastated, populations had
been decimated, industrial potential had been destroyed,
nations had been abolished and created, empires and
social structures changed forever. By 1919, in the midst
of such devastation, the natural optimism of the human
race anticipated a future when none was obvious, and
that hope was based, to a great extent, not on the ability
of political leaders to resolve their differences, but on the
power of technology to provide options for a better life.
Art Deco 1
1935 Art Deco poster for the Monaco Grand Prix.
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Streamlining in car design
Swage line separating
two-tone colours
15 degree slope
Large radius blend between
roof and back
Pillarless window with falling waistline
parallel angle for the door leading edge, and/or the
bonnet side vents.
Two-tone paint schemes that often follow a sweeping
dividing line across the bonnet or down the body sides.
Front and rear wings that follow a single sweeping
parabolic curve, or an ogee curve incorporating both
convex and concave surfaces. Wings may or may not
have valances or skirts.
Horizontal elements incorporated into the overall
design. For example, bonnet vents, waistlines, etc.
In Britain, these styling techniques were applied only
to the rear and sides of the bodywork, while radiator
shells retained their gothic verticality, and headlights
made no attempt to hide in the bodywork. The styling
was generally accomplished with an overall elegance
of form in the ne tradition of British coachbuilding. It
was this styling distinctive that, in Britain, evolved as the
airline cars, and contributed greatly to the standard
forms of British car design in the later 1930s and on into
the post-war period.
Sweeping wing lines front and rear
Tapered trim lines
Step-down tail
Horizontal bonnet vents
Typical airline coup with wash-down back.
Typical sports saloon influenced by airline styling.
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Art Deco and British car design
the little details that set it apart from other examples.
The rear wheel spats and wheel discs certainly added to
the streamlined effect, but the horizontal bonnet vents,
with their repeated design on the wheel spats, were
pure Art Deco. Gurney Nuttings offering on a Lagonda
showed similar horizontal bonnet vents, but the falling
waistline was more pronounced, and a prominent fairing
had been added to the rooine to allow for a more
vertical rear window. The overall effect was very Art Deco,
but not as graceful as the Thrupp and Maberly Bentley.
Park Ward exhibited Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, showing
developments of its 1934 ideas. The most distinctive
An unusual treatment of the rear window is shown on this 1934 Lagonda 4.5-litre by Gurney Nutting.
Park Ward integrated Art Deco styling into its range very effectively, as illustrated by this Phantom 2 Rolls-Royce.
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Singer Le Mans Coupe and Airstream
,
own design. This car was exhibited at the 1933 London
Motor Show but failed to sell, and no further copies were
made. After the Singer Airstream project, Fitzmaurice
continued his streamlining concepts with a series of
designs that were registered as design patents, and
illustrate clearly the continuity of design ideas from the
Tatra and the Singer to his nal design. The conclusion
of this series was a one-off built on a Ford V8 chassis
in 1936, and is thought to be the only other Fitzmaurice
design that ever achieved prototype status. Captain
Douglas Fitzmaurice died of a heart attack in 1938.
The Singer Airstream was announced at the 1934
London Motor Show and was marketed as The Car of
Tomorrow Today. The public, however, was not yet
ready for tomorrow, and, as with so many other Airline
cars, sales failed to meet forecasts. Singer had allocated
A sequence of designs by Captain Douglas Fitzmaurice
between 1933 and 1936, linking his concepts for the
Singer Airstream to his later Ford V8 project.
1935 Singer Airstream the car of tomorrow, today, and
soon to become the car of yesterday.
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AC and Alvis saloons
1934 sales brochure for the AC 16/56 Ace four-door Family Saloon.
1934 AC Ace Family Saloon showing the
four-door pillarless body construction.
Approximately 40 Aero Saloons were built,
but company records describe them as
either Aero Saloons, Aero Sports Saloons,
Long Aero Saloons, Short Aero Saloons,
two-door Aero Saloons, or Special Sports
Aero Saloons.
No comprehensive photographic
records exist identifying the differences
between these specic models. The Long
Aero body differed from the Short Aero by
an increased rake of the tail of about 15