Object Timeline
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1956 |
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2017 |
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2025 |
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Drawing, DeSoto Car Concept
This is a Drawing. It was designed by John Chilka and from the office of Chrysler Corporation. It is dated 1956 and we acquired it in 2017. Its medium is graphite on paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.
These “final tissue” drawings for Chrysler’s 1956 DeSoto represent the automotive marque’s distinguished style at its peak popularity. The 1956 DeSoto was the first American car to add triple taillights to soaring rear fins, a design element that would come to distinguish 1950s automobiles. Though this later car no longer included the hidden headlights pioneered by the 1942 model, the projecting headlights, bumpers, and fins of the 1956 DeSoto contributed to its success, making it one of the company’s bestsellers. These preparatory drawings by John Chilka represent a late stage in the automobile's design and were used to transfer the graphite outlines to illustration board for further rendering in gouache or airbrush. As less public-facing illustrations, these drawings show partially-erased gridlines that Chilka used to create dynamic perspective views of the vehicle’s front and rear.
This object was
donated by
Alexandra Herzan and Paul Herzan.
It is credited Gift of Alexandra and Paul Herzan.
Its dimensions are
Frame H x W x D (approx.): 51.4 × 67.3 × 3.2 cm (20 1/4 × 26 1/2 × 1 1/4 in.)
Cite this object as
Drawing, DeSoto Car Concept; Designed by John Chilka (American, b. Czech Republic, 1912 - 1987); Office of Chrysler Corporation (United States); graphite on paper; Frame H x W x D (approx.): 51.4 × 67.3 × 3.2 cm (20 1/4 × 26 1/2 × 1 1/4 in.); Gift of Alexandra and Paul Herzan; 2017-39-14
