London, 16 October 2001.
”Bountiful &Beautiful”
As part of the Maserati 75th Anniversary celebrations, Maserati UK commissioned
Craig Warwick to produce two paintings, the first a mixed medium rendition of their
racing history, and the second an acrylic on canvas montage of the road car history.
These were displayed along with four dozen other paintings of Maseratis produced by
an international group of invited artists, at the H.R. Owen showroom, where a preview
evening and champagne reception was held on 16 October. The evening was
organised for them by David and Christine Mills of Planners International Events, who
brought together a stunning collection of original artwork, much of which was available
to purchase.
Competition
The evening also hosted the announcement of the winner of the 4th International
Motoring Art Competition, which was run in association with Maserati UK, and which
attracted 255 entries from 18 different countries, vying for the first prize of £2,500 out of
the £4500 prize fund. The panel of judges included Rowan Atkinson, Derek Bell MBE,
Sir Stirling Moss OBE, Jackie Oliver, Roy Salvadori and Paul Stewart. The extremely
high quality of the entries gave the judges a difficult time, but at the end of the day they
declared ”the Duellists”, featuring Achille Varzi and Tazio Nuvolari locked in combat in
the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix, painted by 19-year-old Paul Dove from Cornwall, the
overall winner. It was certainly an impressive work, belying the youth of the artist. Upon
hearing the news he travelled to London overnight by coach to receive his award,
returning home the same evening! Second place went to professional Argentinian artist
George Garcia with ”Schumacher”, with a shared third place between William Putt with
a rendition of a Maserati 300S titled "End of the Day", and Kevin Marson with ”Fortynines
in Sixtyeight” featuring a trio of Lotus 49s at Brands Hatch in 1968.
In The Metal
The new Maserati Spyder was unveiled during the course of the evening, and for many
present it was their first siting of the car in the metal, although the constant crowds
around it prevented proper appraisal. Also on display was a Maserati from another era
and for another purpose, the very successful and extremely elegant sports racing Tipo
60 ”Birdcage”, chassis number 2466, which was another crowd pleaser.
After the show at H.R. Owen, the art exhibition and Maserati Spyder went on a tour of
selected dealerships around Great Britain.
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