Welcome to the official blog for Marshall M. Fredericks, America’s Public Sculptor. Museum staff will share stories about his life, art, and behind the scenes at the Museum. Be sure to “comment”, “like”, and enjoy!
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!You've heard it said before... location is everything. Being a prominent Detroit sculptor, Marshall Fredericks's talents did not go unnoticed by many including General Motors. In the mid 1950s Fredericks was hired for a unique project, create a billboard for a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. Billboards used to be great works of art. Go ahead and Search Google for 1950s billboards. Lot of great billboards right?! Marshall Fredericks soon found a 1955 Chevy in his Royal Oak, Michigan studio. He carefully took measurements from the car to create a side view, relief sculpture of the automobile.
Fredericks worked in clay to meticulously sculpt the car's exact likeness. Once he finished, a fiberglass sculpture was created from the clay and was added to the billboard. The billboard was installed by the Detroit advertising firm Walker and Company. Much research has gone into locating that original billboard, but it's whereabouts are currently unknown.
By: Geoffe Haney ~ Collections Manager
1 Comment
Carl Fredericks
4/16/2020 11:50:15 am
This is a great story of his early work as a sculptor in his own domain. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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