Even More Floyd Davis

Floyd MacMillan Davis  (1896 - 1966)

More Floyd Davis!

"Floyd Davis was one of the great figures of American illustration," ~ Walt Reed

Floyd paints Gladys

Mead Schaeffer 1929~1931

N.C. Wyeth, Frank Brangwyn, Jean Dupas

…various influences coalesce …

colorful, painterly, stylish

Mead Schaeffer

1929

1930

1931

In an interview with Gwilym G. Griffiths appearing in the Autumn 1977 issue of The Packard Cormorant (published quarterly by The Packard Club), Mead offered that "From what I can recall, their advertising agency approached me in the late Twenties and early Thirties, when I did four advertisement illustrations.... I produced four oil paintings: Spanish Lace, Oriental Rug, Russian Ballet and Duncan Phyfe. People were paying for the status of Packard ownership as much as for the excellence of the cars. It was a challenge to every artist who illustrated for Packard to portray this." (His Spanish Lace artwork was not selected for publication.)

Oil on canvas, 27 x 22", signed lr

TI Group & NOT Mead Schaeffer (NOT MS)

TI Facebook Group

Those interested in illustration art should enjoy it ~ http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-new-ti-facebook-group.html

NOT Mead Schaeffer (NOT MS)

1.) A decent illustration which is signed.

Does anyone recognize the signature?

May 1931 Packard ad - signed lower right by ???

2.) This is easily one of the worst of the historical Packard ads, possibly by the same unidentified artist of the previous ad, marred by all the same faults (note how the figure on the far left has his face artfully hidden).

An illustration bereft of all qualities that are Mead Schaeffer.

November 1929 Packard ad - artist unkown

The following ad may be by the same artist. It bears the studio mark of The Burleigh Withers Company. To my knowledge Mead Schaeffer was never associated with them.

signed with The Burleigh Withers Company studio mark lower left

The Burleigh Withers Company - Advertising Illustrators

3,4.) Both of these are clearly by the same hand, an artist superior to the unknown of 1 and 2. 

They are NOT Mead Schaeffer's. 

1931 Ad Packard ; Taj Mahal Shah - Matt Clark (attributed)

I attribute them to Matt Clark, but if you wish to say Benton, by all means do so.

1931 Packard Ad - Matt Clark (attributed)

Note the pose of the ruler in each of these Matt Clark's,

1931 Packard ad ; Imperial Chinese Dynasty ; signed Matt Clark

I like to think that he was inspired by the master Harvey Dunn.

DUCO "Fools!" said Cyrus, "Do You Not Know Horses Fear Camels?" - November 1928 Harvey DUNN

5.) So close but still not MS. This is also a Matt Clark.

1931-6 Packard ad featuring Matt Clark art (unsigned or cropped). SEP 6 June 1931

A signed Matt Clark for comparison.

October 1930 Packard Ad - signed Matt Clark

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