Avanti

Raymond Loewy (1893-1986)
Preliminary studies for Studebaker
"Avanti" automobile
Study 1 - Study 2 - Study 3 - Study 4
Study 5 - Study 6 - Study 7
Study 8 - Study 9 - Study 10
Study 11 - Study 12
Fluid marker on paper, March 22, 1961
Prints and Photographs Division

Raymond Loewy
(1893-1986)
Design sketch for T-1 Locomotive
Pennsylvania Railroad
Color lithograph, 1937
Prints & Photographs Division
Purchase, 1990 (135.13)

Raymond Loewy (1893-1986)
Preliminary design for Cornell-Liberty Safety Car [designed for the Cornell Aeronautical Research Laboratory and the Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Company]
Graphite, colored pencil, and ink drawing, September 11, 1956
Prints & Photographs Division
Purchase, 1990 (135.14)

Raymond Loewy, one of the principal inventors of modern industrial design, redefined the look of everything from logos to locomotives. For many years Loewy served as the principal designer for the Studebaker Corporation, and in 1961 they called upon him to design a new automobile to save the company. These twelve sketches were sent from Loewy's Paris office to help in the effort, which resulted in the "Avanti," a rare instance in which the merits of a product caused it to survive the failure of the company which produced it.

Loewy's relationship with the Pennsylvania Railroad began in the early 1930s, when he approached railway president Martin W. Clement and voiced his desire to design locomotives. The T-1 design was the last steam engine the Pennsylvania Railroad used before switching to diesel-powered engines.

Drawing on his extensive experience in the design and operation of the automobile, Loewy succinctly sketched the basic elements of this "safety car" design for Cornell University, in order to arrive at a design solution that was both attractive and secure.