To celebrate the 120th anniversary of The Ladies’ Automobile Club, the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run has commissioned a special painting by the renowned motoring artist Anna-Louise Felstead, to mark the significant milestone which will be celebrated on this year’s Run on Sunday 3 November.
The painting features two elegantly attired Edwardian lady motorists clearly enjoying their new-found freedom and the unbridled excitement of the open road aboard an archetypal veteran car of the pioneering period.
“I really wanted to capture the ebullient spirit and joie de vivre of those original trailblazers whose budding passion encouraged them to found The Ladies’ Automobile Club back in 1904,” explained Felstead. “It must have been an incredibly exciting era as centuries of horse drawn transport were washed away by the arrival of the game-changing motor car.
“I’m lucky enough to have participated on the magical Veteran Car Run and so feel all the more honoured not only to have been engaged by the Royal Automobile Club but also to be promoting such an inspiring and important theme.”
Felstead has close associations with the Royal Automobile Club and displayed many of her vibrant works in a solo show within the Royal Automobile Club’s Picture Gallery in 2017 and, more recently, in the prestigious ‘The Art of Motoring’ exhibition which takes place annually during London Motor Week in the immediate build-up to the Veteran Car Run. This year, Saudi Motorsport also commissioned her to design the poster for their recent Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 in Jeddah which has prompted a number of exciting new automotive poster commissions.
Felstead also has a strong relationship with the Veteran Car Run’s title partner RM Sotheby’s. During this weekend’s Grand Prix de Monaco Historique she will be creating a large, live painting of Jody Scheckter’s F1 Ferrari, before the car goes under the RM Sotheby’s hammer, and will she be exhibiting 19 of her paintings in The Grimaldi Forum, where the biennial auction (10-11 May) is staged.
“Anna-Louise really has captured the spirt of the Ladies’ Automobile Club in this commission, reflecting the daring nature of the early pioneering women at the turn of the century,” affirmed Jeremy Vaughan, Head of Motoring at the Royal Automobile Club. “The Club is proud to honour this milestone and is thrilled to have engaged Anna-Louise as part of a wider celebration to acclaim all the roles women have continued to perform in all aspects of motoring since.”
Felstead’s captivating and emblematic image will widely be seen over the coming months. It will grace many of the event’s promotional materials including the cover of the official programme. Moreover, a limited edition of 120 prints (20 x 30 inches) will also be offered priced at £120 (inclusive of VAT), each and every one individually numbered and signed by Felstead.
These very desirable and collectable anniversary posters will only available later in the summer to online orders from the Royal Automobile Club Shop accessed via the website: www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk. Packs of five postcards, featuring the same commemorative design, will also be available from the shop priced at just £5 plus delivery. More of Felstead’s work can be seen at www.alfelstead.com or via Instagram: @alfelstead.
Full details are available at the event website at veterancarrun.com.
more information: veterancarrun.com
