Schweppsylvania, The Motocracy - Schweppes (1955)
Year: 1955
Format: Print Advert
Illustrator: Loudon Sainthill (1919-1969)
Client: Schweppes
Details: Schweppes produced a series of adverts in the mid-1950s based in Schweppsylvania, an imaginary 49th state of the USA (before Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the union). The illustrations were created by Loudon Sainthill.
Loudon Sainthill (1919-1969) was an Australian artist and designer. He was born in Tasmania before moving to Melbourne with his family at the age of two. He had little formal schooling but he had a natural interest in drawing and painting, and he was attracted to live performance. By the age of 17, he had set up a studio in Melbourne where he painted and sold murals.
In the 1930s, Sainthill met journalist and art critic Harry Tatlock Miller, who became his life partner. Miller's connections helped Sainthill to advance his career. Sainthill designed costumes and sets for the Original Ballet Russe in the 1930s and was later invited to London with the company. During the Second World War, Loudon served as a private in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps and after his service moved to work in Sydney, exhibiting at the Macquarie Galleries.
In 1949 he and Miller returned to England where he designed The Tempest for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, which opened many doors for him. He went on to design for over 50 major theatre productions, for directors such as John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Noël Coward.
In addition to his work in theatre and fashion, Sainthill was also a successful illustrator and graphic designer. He created book covers and illustrations for a number of publishers. In the mid-1960s he was a visiting teacher of stage design at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, London. He passed away in London following a heart attack in 1969.