Ken Eberts

Ken Eberts (born July 4, 1943) is an American painter who has been instrumental in creating the automotive art genre.[1] These are artworks inspired by and focusing on automobiles and motorcycles as their subject matter. He is a founding member of the Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS), and has been its president since its inception in 1983.[2]

Ken Eberts
Ken Eberts, c. 2015
Born1943 (age 76–77)
New York City
NationalityAmerican
Alma materArt Center College of Design (CA)
Known forFounder of Automotive Fine Arts Society
Notable work
Dad's Home
California Pit Stop
Elegant Performance
StyleAutomotive art
Electedpresident of AFAS
Websitewww.autoartgallery.com

More than 1200 of his original paintings hang in the homes and galleries of art collectors around the world.[3][4] The best known of his works include "Dad's Home" and "California Pit Stop". Eberts has created the principal posters for seven of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.[5] In 2003, he was named Ford Motor Company's official Centennial Artist, following Norman Rockwell who had been Ford's 50th Anniversary artist in 1953.[3]

Early life

Ken Eberts was raised in the Bronx, New York City, by his parents Charles J. Eberts and Renee Eberts, née Sternberg. By his teenage years, Eberts drew constantly. He was encouraged in this by his Scottish grandmother, an amateur fine artist. Eberts favorite artists were Norman Rockwell and Andrew Wyeth, but he was also drawn to movies of the 1930s and 1940s that featured automobiles and street scenes. At the age of nine he created his own imaginary car company, 'Future Motors.' This invented carmaker produced the "Kent" model. He even wrote and illustrated service manuals for the "Kent."[1] In college, he designed and built a full size fiberglass sports car. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

In 1965, Eberts was recruited by the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan.[1] He joined the design team responsible for the Mercury Cougar, Ford LTD and Galaxie, the 2nd generation Ford Econoline van and the Lincoln Continental Mark III.[4][6] In 1966, Lockheed Aircraft hired him to join their design team for the L-1011 airliner, Lockheed's answer to Boeing's 747.

Fine Art and Automotive Art

After quitting Lockheed, he gave himself 5 years to see if he could sustain himself painting. He married in 1972. Eberts work was being shown as "Americana" at galleries and shows. He developed his technique in watercolors and gouache on smoothly textured illustration board. The unusual combination of techniques allowed him to capture the full detail of glass, chrome and leather.

In 1981, he showed his work at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance. Here he met five other artists specializing in automotive subjects. They decided to start an organization to promote recognition of a new genre: "automotive art."[7] The name of the organization became the Automotive Fine Art Society (AFAS). The organization's goal is to raise the standards of automotive art to a level of acceptance as serious fine from the perspective of collectors and critics. Since 1986, an 8000 sq. ft. exhibit area presents member works as attendees enter the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.[7] In addition to its annual presence for 30 years in Pebble Beach, the AFAS is also a mainstay presenter at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in Amelia Island, Fla.[8] AFAS has also exhibited at the Goodwood Revival and numerous museums.[2]

Career Awards and Recognition

Eberts produced the show posters for the AACA National Fall Meet at Hershey, PA for 20 consecutive years, from 1996 to 2016.[9] Eberts has created the principal posters for 7 of the Pebble Beach Concours d 'Elegance events.[5] He has mounted over 30 one-artist shows. 50 of his paintings reside in the permanent collection of the Bank of America.[10] Additional works are in the Petersen Automotive Museum (Los Angeles) and the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum (Cleveland).

In 2003, Eberts was named Ford Motor Company's official Centennial Artist, following Norman Rockwell who had been Ford's 50th Anniversary artist in 1953.[3]

In 2013, William Jeanes, former editor in chief of "Car & Driver" described Ken Eberts paintings:

"Ken's realistic, highly detailed technique creates scenes of America's past that.. somehow become a part of one's own past. His work... has a deja vu quality."[11]

Eberts continues painting automotive art and producing commemorative posters for major car events. At the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance he won The Lincoln Motor Car company award, awarded for the most elegant artwork. His work showed the three Ford GT40s that formed the team that won 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.[12][13]

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References
  1. "On the Road: Automotive Fine Arts Society and Ken Eberts". The Mercury News.
  2. Yost, Mark (20 August 2012). "Revving Up the Oil Paints for a Car Show" – via Wall Street Journal.
  3. Autoartgallery.com
  4. "A Celebration of Automotive Art" by Gerry Durnell, c 2005 Automobile Quarterly ISBN 978-1596130050
  5. "The Art of the Poster" by Robert Devlin 2003
  6. Hemmings Special Interest Autos #196 August 2003, p. 36
  7. Monterey Herald August 12, 2015 James Raia
  8. "Automotive Fine Arts Society at 2016 Pebble Concours". Sports Car Digest. 12 August 2016.
  9. Hemmings Classic Car, issue 149, February 2017 by Mark McCourt
  10. The Starfire Collection. Yellow House Studio. 2007. ISBN 978-0979388903.
  11. "All About Eberts" by William Jeanes in February/March 1998 issue of Classic Automobile Register.
  12. "Concours d'Elegance artist awards announced".
  13. "Pebble Beach Concours unveils official event posters - Classic Car News". 18 June 2016.
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