Vanderbilt Cup Races

Allen Tupper True was born May 30, 1881, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated from Manual Training High School in Denver and spent two years at the University of Denver before studying at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC.  True then spent 1902-1907 at the prestigious Howard Pyle School in Wilmington, DE and Chadds Ford, PA. (PBS)

The mystery illustration depicting "spectators finding their places before dawn" by Allen Tupper True had January, 1904 written on its reverse which certainly has to be a mistake as I doubt True could illustrate a race that had not even been thought of.   

Further research has found the illustration appearing in the January, 1906 edition of "Everybody's Magazine" opposite an article titled "Car Coming" by Long Island auto enthusiast and one time advertising manager for the American Locomobile Company, Arthur N. Jervis (see the full article at the end of this post).  So the race depicted would be the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race.  And that's Joe Tracy in the 1905 Locomobile in the picture. 

Jervis was born in Amityville and was a contributor of automotive articles to newspapers, most probably including the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.  (The Forest Republican Jan. 25, 1911)

Besides the mystery illustration another one done by True with an automobile was drawn while studying with Howard Pyle and is titled "Alpine Climbing in Automobiles" published in Century Magazine in 1905.  True noted in a letter to his mother that "Mr. Pyle said this was the best one I had ever done". (PBS)

While at the Pyle School and later in Boston, True provided illustrations for magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Outing, Collier's Weekly, Scribners Magazine and Art and Progress and throughout his life depicted his beloved West and its peoples. In 1912, True acquired contracts for murals in various branches of the Denver Public Library. 

True's real career as a muralist began when he received his first big assignment in 1917 to paint eight panels for the Wyoming State Capitol, which he finished in 1918. The murals depict various aspects of the culture, history, and industry of Wyoming. The murals in the Senate chamber are entitled "Indian Chief Cheyenne", "Frontier Cavalry Officer", "Pony Express Rider", and "Railroad Builders/Surveyors". The House murals are entitled "Cattlemen", "Trappers", "Homesteaders" (shown here), and "Stagecoach".

Several of True's  murals recall the days of the Indian before his contact with the white race – days when he roamed the untouched reaches of the West.  Costing $18,000, the murals depict different aspects of native life. The series concluded with a much larger mural shown here named, "Happy Hunting Ground".

Following assignments by banks and opera houses in Wyoming, True began in 1931 discussing a series of transportation themed murals with Charles Boettcher, then the owner of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver.  His two murals, Stagecoach Travel and Airplane Travel (shown here) were installed in 1937.

In a fitting tribute honoring the old west and the automobile, Wyoming's license plates since 1936 contain a cowboy on a bucking bronco which appropriately uses a True illustration! (PBS)

In spite of a debilitating stroke suffered in the early fifties, True completed one more mural; an exuberant depiction of a Native American eagle dance for the University of Colorado Student Union Building in Boulder.

True was recognized as an authority on Indian design, costume and artifacts, as well as on the lives of westerners such as the cowboy, trapper, explorer, prospector, construction worker and farmer who are depicted in his numerous murals and easel paintings.

Allen Tupper True died November 1, 1955 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

Here is the article in which the Allen Tupper True painting appeared - the painting appeared ahead of the first page.