Items Similar to Automotive design for Alexis Kellner AG Berlin
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5
Herschu (Herbert Schultz)Automotive design for Alexis Kellner AG Berlin1500
1500
$2,047.45
£1,500
€1,764.69
CA$2,850.97
A$3,063.66
CHF 1,643.83
MX$36,088.10
NOK 20,669.39
SEK 18,881.35
DKK 13,188.63
About the Item
Half-Limousine coachwork design for an Austro-Daimler.
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘84’, in upper left corner, German copyright label on verso.
Finished in pale blue with contrasting black roof and trunk, gold coachline and with wire wheels, presented against landscape background in silhouette, this stately 4-door ‘Halb-Limousine’ epitomises the brief pinnacle in the mixed fortunes of Austro-Daimler. Starting off in 1890 as simply the Austrian sales outlet of the German motor manufacturer, Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, or DMG, founder Eduard Bierenz was soon persuaded to start making his own cars in conjunction with engine-builder, Eduard Fischer. Still an offshoot of the German company, in 1902 Gottlieb Daimler’s son, Paul, took over technical developments, before being replaced in that role by the legendary Ferdinand Porsche. He took the company in a variety of directions, including more aerodynamic sports cars, aswell as powering buses, armoured vehicles and even the Zeppelin airship. After WW1, and before the company’s collapse in the early 1930s, following a series of disastrous mergers and takeovers, it had developed a reputation for producing attractive sporting and luxury cars, attracting the interest of such coachbuilders as Kellner.
[Berlin, 1930]
Founded by Alexis Kellner (1880-1953) in 1910, in Berlin, the eponymous Alexis Kellner AG coachbuilding company’s stylish automobile bodywork designs were immediately successful. This was demonstrated by the number of orders he received at the International Motor Show, in Berlin, in 1911. Kellner was noted for his inventiveness of small details, such as a concealed handle behind the driver’s seat for quickly and easily raising and lowering the car’s roof, concealed bonnet hinges, for aesthetic as well as aerodynamic reasons, and a suitcase mounted on the running board.
The company’s success reached its zenith in the 1920s, when it was famed for the luxury bodies it designed for such prestigious manufacturers as Audi, Austro-Daimler, Bugatti, Cadillac, Horch, Maybach, Mercedes, and others. This popularity stemmed from both the highly stylish external lines and the sumptuously appointed interiors. This emphasis on sensuous indulgence was even reflected in the company’s pioneering use of nude women in its advertising.
But, as with so many manufacturers dependent on wealth and stability in the market, its fortunes crashed in 1929, and Alexis Kellner was declared bankrupt in 1930. The brand name and patents were sold to arch-rival, Drauz in Heilbronn, against whom Kellner had launched a plagiarism suit in 1920 over a particular body design, who shrewdly maintained the Kellner name for its sales company.
The stylishness of Kellner’s coachbuilding was perfectly captured and presented to the public by the artistry of Herbert Schultz. Unlike the flamboyant designs he portrayed so skilfully, Schultz was a modest man, despite being a creative all-rounder. In 1818, as a commercial artist and caricaturist working for the Berliner Tageblatt, he gained the admiration of fellow contributor, the artist George Grosz. Schultz had only recently come to Berlin, having graduated from the Royal Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig, followed by a spell at the Kunstakademie in Hamburg.
Schultz’s skills as a graphic artist lent themselves perfectly to illustrating promotional catalogues to appeal to Alexis Kellner AG’s affluent clientele, which had included the royal household. Always signing his work as ‘Herschu’, he presented these imposing designs against subtle open country landscapes, glamourous night cityscapes, or floating in isolation against a solid ground.
Following the demise of Alexis Kellner AG, Schultz’s ongoing artistic career was finally blocked by the Nazi state when he refused to part with his half-Jewish wife. So the Herschu name faded, as did that of Kellner, only for both to be rekindled now in these recently rediscovered, breathtaking, design.
- Creator:Herschu (Herbert Schultz) (German)
- Creation Year:1500
- Dimensions:Height: 10.63 in (27 cm)Width: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Framed and glazed. Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on cream card, annotated in pencil with body type below, numbered ‘35’, in upper left corner, German copyright stamp on verso.
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: 974831stDibs: LU141926901882
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Professional Seller
Every seller passes strict standards for authenticity and reliability
Established in 1979
1stDibs seller since 2020
19 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: London, United Kingdom
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View AllAutomotive design for Alexis Kellner AG Berlin: Pullman Limousine Adler Standard
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, London
Pullman Limousine Adler Standard.
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘93’, in upper lef...
Category
1930s Modern Still-life Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Cabriolet coachwork design by Alexis Kellner AG for the Cadillac 341-A.
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, London
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘77’, in upper left corner, German copyright label on...
Category
1930s Modern Still-life Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Cabriolet coachwork design by Alexis Kellner AG for the Packard Custom Eight.
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, London
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘76’, in upper left corner, German copyright label on verso. [Berlin 1930]
Finished in green with contrasting light green roof and matching solid disc wheels, presented against a silhouette of a grand palace, this imposing 4-door cabriolet was one of the more luxurious variant designs around the underpinnings of the company’s straight-8 engine and drive train. It evolved from the Single Eight, so-called as it replaced the earlier V-12 known as the Double Six. Founded in 1899 by brothers James and William Packard, the eponymous company was not only one of the pioneers of North American motor...
Category
1930s Modern Still-life Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Sportcabriolet coachwork design by Alexis Kellner AG for the Cadillac 341-A.
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, London
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘78’, in upper left corner, German copyright label on...
Category
1930s Modern Still-life Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
La Voiture Th. Schneider, Car - 1912
Located in London, London
GAMY and MONTAUT, Ernest.
La Voiture Th. Schneider, 1912 gagne à Dieppe Dinant et à la Sarthe vitesse et régularité / Magneto Bosch Corburateur Claudel Roues Riley.
Mabileau & Co., ...
Category
1910s Art Deco Figurative Prints
Materials
Screen, Stencil
Collection of Watercolour Designs for Silverware.
Located in London, London
[ANON.]
Collection of Watercolour Designs for Silverware.
South Germany, [Late 19th century].
A series of 9 watercolours, each framed and glazed, ...
Category
Late 19th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
You May Also Like
Classic Cars, Streamlined Coupe Art Deco Vintage Car Automobilia
Located in Miami, FL
Automobile and industrial designer George Hildebrand creates a conceptual illustration of a streamlined coupé design that epitomizes the Art Deco style of the 1930s, with aerodynamic...
Category
1930s Art Deco Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Classic Car Lincoln Nash Illustration - Automobilia Timeless Aesthetic
By Benjamin Stahl
Located in Miami, FL
Automobilia - This advertising illustration captures the timeless Art Deco aesthetic while highlighting the historical significance of the Lincoln Nash. The luxury automobile was man...
Category
1930s Art Deco Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Gouache
Maurice Chevalier
s Rolls Royce . PARIS
S LOVE
Located in CANNES, FR
James Rassiat ( 1909 -1998 ). PARIS'S Monn Amour
" la Rolls Royce de maurice Chevalier " arborant le canotier et la canne .
gouache on paper : 38 x ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Art Deco Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
$871 Sale Price
66% Off
The Car - Drawing - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Car is an Original Pencil Drawing realized by an Unknown artist in mid-20th century.
Good condition on a yellowed paper.
No signature.
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Mercedes W18 - XXI Century, Contemporary Watercolor
Ink Painting, Vehicle, Car
By Mariusz Szałajdewicz
Located in Warsaw, PL
Mariusz Szalajdewicz (b. 1974)
Studied at the Faculty of Architecture at Warsaw University of Technology, where he mastered the drawing skill. Architect and urbanist, illustrator.
...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Studebaker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Unsigned
Artist Unknown
20th Century American Illustration
Category
20th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paint
$1,600
More Ways To Browse
Alexis Vintage
Silhouette Landscape
Cityscape Night
Vintage Cadillac
Vintage Running Board
Automotive Design
Zeppelin Airship
George Schultz
1980 Lithograph
Abstract Painting Of A Square
Oil Paintings By A North
Purple Heart
Vintage Lithograph Posters
Philadelphia Art
Paris Landscape Oil On Canvas
Artist Proof Print
Black And White Italy Photography
Abstract Acrylic Portraits On Canvas