Almost certainly the most famous automotive artist there has ever been, Crosby did much more than record great cars - he was equally concerned with overall impressions, with capturing the essence of a complete situation within a single painting, and bringing to each a combination of life and vigour as well as mechanical accuracy.

Essentially romantic, Crosby’s work records the spirit of the early years when motoring was new, exciting, and dangerous. Much of it is evocative of power and speed, of the Land Speed Record in its heroic era, of the high long-bonneted cars in Edwardian Grands Prix, on the Brooklands bankings or the dusty roads of the Targa Florio circuit in the golden age of racing between the two world wars. He also painted the grand touring cars of the period, often setting them on the Alpine passes or the poplar-lined roads of France in an age and style of travel that is now history.

Not all Crosby’s work was romantic, though. A versatile, innovative artist, he pioneered the perspective and cutaway drawings which are now taken for granted in motoring publications, and he also produced innumerable pen-and-ink sketches and cartoons.

A representative cross-section of Crosby's work is brought together in this book, which has an introduction and commentary by the late Peter Garnier, past editor of Autocar.

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