Motoring art: Peter Helck

By Mick Walsh

| 23 Jun 2023

Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Peter Helck

More than any other motoring artist, Peter Helck’s motorsport illustrations of the pre-WW1 years have a special authenticity gained from witnessing the spectacle first-hand.

Born in 1893, Helck saw his first race, the Vanderbilt Cup, in 1906 and was immediately entranced by these mighty titans and their valiant crews.

During the summer, while playing with friends on West 96th Street in New York, Helck spotted a Simplex 50 warming up and pestered the pilot to let him sit up on the passenger seat and go for a ride.

William Knipper’s Chalmers-Detroit during the 1909 Vanderbilt Cup in Long Island, New York

The test driver was Al Poole, a veteran of the 1000 Mile Trial with CS Rolls, but more impressive to young Helck was that he’d also ridden shotgun with Vanderbilt Cup winner Joe Tracy.

Helck wrote and illustrated The Checkered Flag 50 years later, in 1961.

His foreword to this brilliant history of pre-1914 motor racing pays tribute to Poole: ‘The man who detected and responded to the appeal in the eyes of a small boy so long, long ago.’

Willie Vanderbilt’s mechanic hangs off the winning Daimler in the 1900 Newport races

Not only did Helck witness the Vanderbilt Cup racers, but in 1920 he travelled to England to study under the famous muralist Sir Frank Brangwyn.

During Helck’s stay his illustrations impressed The Autocar, which arranged a visit to Brooklands for him.

As well as machinery, Helck was a master of figurework and soon got to know many of the famous racing characters, including Malcolm Campbell.

One of his lifelong regrets was never getting a chance to meet The Autocar illustrator Frederick Gordon Crosby.

Ralph de Palma’s Mercedes ‘Gray Ghost’ in the 1914 Santa Monica Grand Prize race

Never intimidated by difficult historical commissions, Helck’s compositions would masterfully combine machines of all types with some superb figurework and dramatic landscapes.

His talents also resulted in major advertising projects with companies including Sinclair Oil, National Steel and Chevrolet, but motorsport always remained a fervent interest.

Helck’s school books had been filled with drawings of these ‘fire-spitting monsters’, so when his idea for The Checkered Flag was accepted by publisher Charles Scribner’s Sons, the 67-year-old spent countless hours researching and drawing.

A late-night test run captured in Scorchers

He sought out veteran drivers and historians to get the reports and details completely authentic.

Having the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup-winning Locomobile ‘Old Number 16’ in his studio garage at Boston Corners and driving the timewarp treasure no doubt fuelled his imagination.

From the 1903 Gordon Bennett race in Ireland to the 1916 Santa Monica Grand Prize, Helck’s vivid text brilliantly complements his remarkable illustrations.

Peter Helck told the history of pre-1914 racing in his book, The Checkered Flag

As well as the racing spectacle, Helck also captures the human aspects, be it the excited atmosphere among spectators on the night before the Vanderbilt Cup, or the fire in the Bad Canstatt works that destroyed the Deutscher Automobil Club’s team of Mercedes 90hp racers.

In contrast to Helck’s 1976 book, The Great Auto Races, the earlier title is printed in a monochrome that dramatically suits the era.

The first signed edition was limited to 500 and is now highly prized, but standard copies can still be found for around £50.

For anyone interested in automotive art and early racing, it’s a must-have.

For more, see peterhelck.com

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