For those in the know, French-born American industrial designer Raymond Loewy is the “father of streamlining.” He is widely recognized as a pioneer of industrial design consulting — a creative powerhouse who took aim at cluttered designs and simplified them. Loewy left his mark on everything from toothbrushes to trashcans to spacecraft interiors. He designed cars, worked in illustration, and crafted comely dressers and other furniture.
Loewy was born in Paris, France. At age 15, he designed a model airplane that was powered by rubber bands. It won the James Gordon Bennett Cup of 1908. Loewy patented the model kit for this plane by the following year and saw brisk sales. With his savings, Loewy was able to study at the University of Paris and then at Ecole de Lanneau, where he earned an engineering degree in 1918.
Loewy moved to New York City in 1919 and found work as a window designer for the department stores Macy's, Wanamaker's and Saks and as a fashion illustrator for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Loewy’s big break in industrial design came in 1929 when he altered the Gestetner duplicating machine — removing jutting parts and encasing the moving works in an understated cover. It caused a sensation within the industry — and companies began to call on him.
Loewy designed packaging for Coca-Cola and revised the look of Lucky cigarettes. The “Loewy Look,” which referred to the designer’s efforts to strip a product of any unnecessary detail and streamline its appearance, began to characterize hundreds of products.
Loewy found clients in a dizzying number of companies. He did everything from retooling logos to redesigning products. His 1934 Sears Coldspot refrigerator was a sleek innovation that broke sales records. His Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive resembled a speeding bullet and was the darling of the 1939 World’s Fair. Loewy even reworked shapes for snacks at Nabisco. By the time World War II gathered steam, Raymond Loewy Associates — the industrial design firm he founded — had been operating in a number of American cities. When Time magazine featured him on the cover in October 1949 — Loewy was not shy about publicity — his profile soared.
Loewy worked with Studebaker for decades. The success of their 1953 Starliner coupe was due to his revolutionary design, while their 1963 futuristic, fiberglass-bodied Avanti, which came with advanced safety features and materialized at a time when the company was experiencing financial hardship, was his crowning achievement for the maker.
Returning to his roots in aviation, Loewy worked for NASA from 1967 to 1973 on the interior design of the Skylab space station. He was also involved in the interior designs of the Concorde supersonic jet and Air Force One. Loewy delighted in creating furniture and collaborated with manufacturers such as Mengel Furniture, Rosenthal and Doubinsky Frères. In the 1970s, Loewy and his wife shuttered their businesses and retired in France.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Raymond Loewy cabinets, serveware, seating and more.
Drawing "box" for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Drawing "box" for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith Space station Habitability study On tracing paper Circa 1969 30x22 490€
Paper
Helmeted man 2" drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Helmeted man 2" drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith Apollo orbital workshop - Habitability study India ink on cardboard Signed and dated Raymond Loewy's initials 1...
Paper
"Helmeted man 4" drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Helmeted man 4" drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith Space Station - Habitability study On cardboard 16 February 1969 42,5x35 990€
Paper
Dessin « helmeted man 3 » pour la NASA - Raymond Loewy et William Snaith
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Helmeted man 3" drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith Apollo orbital workshop - Habitability study India ink on cardboard Signed and dated Raymond Loewy's initials 1...
Paper
Drawing « helmeted man 1 » for the NASA - Raymond Loewy et William Snaith
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Helmeted man 1" drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith Space station - Habitability study On paper 16 February 1969 42x35 490€
Paper
$1,100Sale Price|20% Off
H 12 in W 19 in D 2 in
Art Critics and Tourists, Original Watercolor Illustration for The New Yorker
By Eldon Dedini
Located in Soquel, CA
Art Critics and Tourists, Original Watercolor Illustration for The New Yorker An original watercolor illustration for The New Yorker...
Paper, Watercolor
$400
H 12.75 in W 9.5 in
Nude Male Back, Contemporary Graphite Drawing on Paper, Unframed
By Eduardo Alvarado
Located in Chicago, IL
EDUARDO ALVARADO b. Spain, 1972 EDUCATION 1990-95 Licenciado en BB AA La Facultad de BB AA de la UPV, Bilbao La Facultad de BB AA de San Fernando, Madrid SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2018 Casa del Libro, Logroño 2016 Casa de Cultura. Miranda de Ebro 2015 Casa de Cultura. Miranda de Ebro Galería Espiral, Noja 2014 Galerie d´Art Anne Broitman. Biarritz, France 2013 Galería de Arte-Centro Cultural (junto a Vesna Pavlovic). Novi Sad, Serbia Centro Cultural La Vidriera, Maliaño The Gallery of Contemporary Fine Arts (junto a Vesna Pavlovic). Nis, Serbia 2012 Gallery Seasons (junto a Vesna Pavlovic). Sofia, Bulgaria Gallery SKC (junto a Vesna Palovic). Belgrado, Serbia Manos para qué os quiero. Logroño Galería Espiral. Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo, Santander Sala Asociación Artistas de Guipuzcoa (junto a Juan Carlos Cardesín), San Sebastian 2011 Galería Espiral, San Miguel de Meruelo Galería Jovan Popovic (junto a Vesna Pavlovic). Opovo, Serbia Galería Veciti Trkac (junto a Vesna Pavlovic). Nis, Serbia Exit Art Gallery (Fundación Adolfo Dominguez...
Graphite, Paper
$3,800
H 31 in W 33 in D 2 in
One Red One (Abstract Still Life Drawing of Black & Red Flowers in a Vase)
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative, still life chalk drawing of flowers in a vase against collaged vintage book pages 'One Red One' by Louise Laplante in 2024 pastel on collaged vintage book pages 27.5 x 29...
Paper, Chalk
$480Sale Price|20% Off
H 27.5 in W 19.5 in D 0.1 in
GUARDIAN ANGEL by Paula Craioveanu - original art
By Paula Craioveanu
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"Guardian Angel” 27.5x19.5in / 70x50cm Pencil and sepia ink on watercolor paper. Shipped rolled in a tube, directly from the artist's studio. Shipping anywhere in the world. Registe...
Paper, Tempera
Profile Upper Torso (Portrait)
By Andy Warhol
Located in London, GB
1957 Unique blotted ink line drawing, on wove paper. 34.9 x 28.9 cm Initialed 'VF' by Vincent Fremont of the Andy Warhol With the Estate of Andy Warhol and the Andy Warhol Foundation...
Paper, Ink
$1,400
H 7 in W 5.5 in
Outskirts Delivery - Graphite Drawing of Naked Cowboy with Blurred Face & Hands
By Jane Birch
Located in Chicago, IL
Jane Birch Outskirts Delivery graphite on paper 7h x 5.50w in 17.78h x 13.97w cm JAB011 My drawings are lovingly objectifying. I’m an alien researcher, and my subject, humans, are f...
Archival Paper, Graphite
$529
H 10.24 in W 7.09 in D 0.08 in
The Worker 1862, Italian Crayon Drawing on Paper, Signed, 20th Century
By Guglielmo Innocenti
Located in Genève, GE
Works on paper signed
Crayon, Paper
$1,596Sale Price|20% Off
H 8 in W 8.5 in D 0.75 in
Turn of the 20th Century Portrait of Two Brothers
By Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel
Located in Soquel, CA
Rare turn of the century portrait of J.O. and T.O. Mason, from a daguerreotype photograph, c.1860, by Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel (American, 1876-1954). Portrait c.1900. Signed "Marion...
Paper, Watercolor
$1,100
H 10.24 in W 12.5 in
Original Pencil Drawing from PIERRE, "I DONT CARE" (CBS 1970s)
By Maurice Sendak
Located in Surfside, FL
An original animation drawing from the CBS-TV broadcast of Sendak's "REALLY ROSIE" - (this was the first time "Rosie" appeared anywhere other than Sendak's original book) - this cel ...
Paper, Carbon Pencil
$950
H 5.08 in W 7.88 in
Le Ramassage des Foins by Paulémile Pissarro - Graphite drawing
By Paul Emile Pissarro
Located in London, GB
Le Ramassage des Foins by Paulémile Pissarro (1884-1972) Graphite on paper 12.9 x 20 cm (5 ¹/₈ x 7 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed lower left, Paulémile-Pissarro- Provenance Estate of the Artist...
Paper, Graphite
$25,907
H 9.45 in W 9.45 in D 0.08 in
1950s Antonio Donghi Signed Certified and Archived Landscape Painting
By Antonio Donghi
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful watercolor on paper by Antonio Donghi (Rome, March 16, 1897 - Rome, July 16, 1963) the main exponents of Magical Realism. Signed lower right "Antonio Donghi" The work is ...
Paper, Watercolor
$476Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 25 in D 1 in
Monterey Wharf - 1980s Figurative Landscape in Watercolor
By Stephen John Skerce
Located in Soquel, CA
Monterey Wharf - 1980s Figurative Landscape in Watercolor Detailed watercolor landscape of the Monterey Wharf with figures and boats by Stephen John Skerce (American, 1926-2010). An...
Paper, Watercolor
Sold
H 12.21 in W 16.54 in D 0.4 in
Oral valve for inflation - drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Drawing "Oral valve for inflation" for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith India ink on cardboard Signed and dated with Raymond Loewy's initials 1968 41,5x31 990€
Paper
Sold
H 16.54 in W 13.78 in D 0.4 in
Drawing « two helmeted men » for the NASA - Raymond Loewy et William Snaith
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
"two helmeted men" drawing for NASA - Raymond Loewy and William Snaith Space station - Habitability study On paper 16 February 1969 42,5 x35 490€
Paper