Mystery Artwork #23 Solved: #1 Thomas and #4 Thomas Prior to the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race at Krug’s
Stuart Middlemiss submitted our very first Mystery Friday artwork.
Mystery Friday artwork questions:
- Who was the artist of this painting?
The great artist Peter Helck
- What year was depicted in the scene? Where is it indicated in the painting?
The scene depicts the Thomas Headquarters at Krug's Hotel in Mineola prior to the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The pennant held by the child reads "1906 Vanderbilt."
- Identify the two racers and the one driver.
Hubert Le Blon is sitting in his #1 Thomas which finished eighth in the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Gustave Caillois, his American Elimination Trial teammate, can be seen talking to Le Blon.
Callois' #4 Thomas is on the right. This racer finished seventh in the 1906 American Elimination Trial and did not qualify for the Vanderbilt Cup Race.
Congrats to Ivan Pozega, Greg O. Randy Reed and Ariejan Bos who correctly identified the #1 Thomas (1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race) and the #4 Thomas (1906 American Elimination Trial). Kudos to Greg O., Gary Hammond, Randy Reed, Steve Lucas, Art K., Ariejan Bos and Frank Femenias who noticed the 1906 Vanderbilt pennant.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
#1 Thomas
Le Blon at the starting Line
Taking the Westbury Hairpin Turn
#4 Thomas
Entering the Krug's Hotel garage.
The racer with Caillois and his distinctive cap.
Drivers
The Thomas team (from left to right): Hubert Le Blon, Montague Roberst and Gustave Caillois.
Gustave Caillois and his mechanician Marcel Pouxe.
Krug's Hotel
William K. Vanderbilt Jr. seen doing an emergency run in from of the Thomas headquarters at Krug's Hotel.
Comments
This is another Peter Helck painting I have not seen before.
It depicts a garage scene at Krug’s Hotel in Mineola that was used as the headquarters of the Thomas team during the 1906 race.
On the right is the #4 driven by Frenchman Gustave Caillois during the American Elimination Trial that ultimately failed to finish. On the left is the #1 Thomas with driver Hubert Le Blon behind the steering wheel and what looks like Marius Amiel, the Frenchman’s mechanician, fiddling with the powerplant.
Who was the artist of this painting?
Doesn’t really seem like his ‘style’ so I’m probably wrong, but I’ll go with the obvious guess here and say Peter Helck.
What year was depicted in the scene? Where is it indicated in the painting?
1906. Indicated on the pennant the boy is holding in the lower left corner of the painting.
Identify the two racers and the one driver.
The #1 Thomas driven by Hubert Le Blon and #4 Thomas from the 1906 American Elimination Trial
Howard,
When we first saw the painting my wife’s immediate response was “It’s Howard’s Garage!”, but then we realized it wasn’t anywhere as neat & clean as yours!
That said -
Artist - Peter Helck
Date - 1906 - the boy on the left side is holding a Vanderbilt Cup pennant which seems to be dated 1906 (a little blurry on screen)
Cars & driver - if it is 1906 then #1 is the Thomas, driven by Hubert Le Blon, who is standing behind it, wearing a cap & waving his hand; # 4 is the Fiat driven by Vincenzo Lancia; the gentleman in the back with the cap might be Le Blon’s mechanician Marius Amiel
Artist is Peter Helck. 1906 Vanderbilt Cup noted on the boy’s penant. The racers are the Thomas cars and the driver is Hubert Le Blon.
Well, I’m not real certain about this but I’ll take a couple of wild guesses anyway. The artist could be Peter Helck and the year might be 1906, which is what I think is on the banner or pennant the young boy is holding. If it is 1906, then the two racers could be the Thomas (#1) and the Fiat (#4). The driver in the #1 car could be Hubert LeBlon.
Who was the artist of this painting? Peter Helck
What year was depicted in the scene? Where is it indicated in the painting? By the looks of the pennant held by the boy in the lower left hand corner, looks to be 1906.
Identify the two racers and the one driver. #1 - Thomas (Driver - Hubert Le Bron), #4 - Fiat.
On this artistic picture Peter Helck gives us a look in the Thomas headquarters, probably during the night before the Vanderbilt Cup race. An agitated Hubert Le Blon is sitting in the drivers seat of the no.1 Thomas, and his team mate Caillois (with chauffeurs’ cap) apparently trying to calm him down? Caillois’ Thomas is the car on the right, still carrying the no.4 of the Eliminations in which he failed to qualify. Le Blon, who ended 2nd in the Eliminations, would end up on 8th place in the actual race.
On the flag one of the boys is holding the text seems to be 1906 Vanderbilt. Could Peter Helck have pictured himself, when he was there as a 13-year old boy to watch his first automobile race?
Much detailed action in this painting, loved the purple hues. It could be evening. Is that Peter Helck’s signature? Child holding the pennant indicates a Vanderbilt race but can’t make out the year. Unable to locate the #1 and #4 team in a Vanderbilt Cup Race. Painting may be a stressful, time-constrained moment in one of the Elimination races.
It could be Joe Tracy by the right front wheel.
Was there a connection between the Krugs Hotel and the former Krugs bread and cake delivery company of the 50’s? They had a distribution center on Route 25. I remember because my Dad was a delivery man for them. When Krugs Bakery (or whatever the right name was) went out of business, he took a job driving for Dugans Bakery. Just curious. Thanks.
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From Howard Kroplick
Don’t know the answer but maybe someone does!
I loved the Dugan marble cake!!!