PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA (May 28, 2009) – Posters have been created to commemorate the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance since the event’s inception in 1950. As the Concours has matured into an international automotive spectacle, these posters have evolved from simple promotional tools into prized works of art. Continuing this tradition for the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, taking place Sunday, August 16, artist Barry Rowe has been commissioned to paint the Concours poster, which will focus on Bentley, one of the featured marques at this year’s celebration. In recent years, posters have also been created for related events. Artist Peter Hearsey […]
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA (May 28, 2009) – Posters have been created to commemorate the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance since the event’s inception in 1950. As the Concours has matured into an international automotive spectacle, these posters have evolved from simple promotional tools into prized works of art. Continuing this tradition for the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, taking place Sunday, August 16, artist Barry Rowe has been commissioned to paint the Concours poster, which will focus on Bentley, one of the featured marques at this year’s celebration.
In recent years, posters have also been created for related events. Artist Peter Hearsey has been chosen to highlight the bodywork of Carrozzeria Zagato on the poster for the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex. And Tim Layzell will create the Pebble Beach RetroAuto poster, which will celebrate the centennial of Morgan and be auctioned, for the first time, to benefit Pebble Beach Concours charities. To date, the Pebble Beach Concours has raised over $12 million for charity.
“The finest automobiles are art on wheels, and great artists like Barry Rowe, Peter Hearsey and Tim Layzell help us to underscore that fact,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button. “We are very pleased to be able to work with artists of their caliber.”
The 2009 Concours poster will showcase a Bentley 8-Litre Vanden Plas Tourer in front of The Lodge at Pebble Beach, with a Bentley Continental and a Bugatti Atalante in the background.
“This Bentley Vanden Plas is quite interesting visually, with subtle differences in gray on the body and wings,” said Rowe, who has been chosen to produce a variety of Pebble Beach posters for the past 12 consecutive years. “And from a historical perspective, this car was driven by former Bentley Motors owner Woolf Barnato on his honeymoon.”
Rowe, who describes the Pebble Beach Concours as, “the world’s premier automotive showcase,” has won several awards of excellence at concours around the world and has created artwork for Louis Vuitton of Paris and Royal Caribbean cruise ships.
Peter Hearsey’s painting, commemorating the 12th annual Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex on Thursday, Aug. 13, will highlight the styling of Carrozzeria Zagato by focusing on a 1965 Alfa Romeo TZ2 Competition FIA GT Berlinetta owned by the William Lyon family. Several examples of Zagato’s craftsmanship will be together in a unique class of vehicles on the Concours show field.
“I was surprised but thrilled to be chosen as a Pebble Beach artist,” said Hearsey, an automotive artist from London who has attended the Pebble Beach Concours each year since 1993. “I’ve really enjoyed painting this particular Alfa Romeo and hope I’ve captured the excitement of the Tour and the spectacular coastal scenery that is so identifiable as California.”
Tim Layzell’s poster for Pebble Beach RetroAuto, a three-day display of rare automotive collectibles and memorabilia alongside luxury and technology goods for today’s driver, illustrates two early Morgans in celebration of the marque’s centennial. The original artwork will be auctioned to benefit Pebble Beach Concours charities. Silent bids for this piece will be accepted at RetroAuto from its opening on Friday, Aug. 14 until its close at 6:00 p.m. on Concours Sunday.
“Poster art has always interested me, and it’s a great honor to be among the few selected to create one for the Pebble Beach Concours,” said Layzell, who has exhibited his pop-art-styled paintings at motoring events around the world, including Goodwood and Silverstone. “The bodywork of this Morgan three-wheeler is fabulous and, growing up near the Morgan factory (in Malvern, Worcestershire, UK), these cars have always been very special to me. Raising money for the Concours charities makes this painting even more gratifying.”
Rowe and Hearsey will also be among the select group of artists to display their latest creations at the Saturday, Aug. 15 AFAS Exhibition on the Concours show field, and Layzell’s work will be shown at RetroAuto.