Automobile memorabilia is a popular category of collectibles, since many aficionados feel warm fuzzies when imagining the grand old days of classic car designs, beloved car product brands, and family vacation car trips across American highways.

So, it is no surprise that artworks depicting these elements could be highly popular in of themselves.

In this vein, we came across an image of the Wood Oil Company painting, by Michael Young, 1996:

The picture is quite beautiful, and full of saturated colors. The light and shadows in the image, including reflections across the shiny pavement and sidewalk, make for a rich feast for the eyes. Classic cars and a period truck are in the scene, along with a number of people — the service station attendant checking the oil in one car, kids playing in the background, a man mowing a lawn decorated with pink flamingos while a woman walks a dog, two cars with people have stopped to chat, and teenagers seem to be talking excitedly with one another. The scene appears to be set in the 1950s, which aligns with the types of cars and the APCO branding. Further, the tableaux is subtly showing racial harmony as well, with black and white people getting along with one another, conveying a feeling of hope and friendliness, overall.

Fascinatingly, it is the gas station itself that is the centerpoint to the whole scene. The narrative is an insightful observation about how local gas stations were often one of the cultural centerpoints at that time, where people met up with one another, passed the time of day, bought a soda pop, and enjoyed life.

Technically, this red-and-white APCO signage was used by the Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation, as opposed to the successor company, APCO Oil Corporation. During its last years, the Anderson-Prichard Oil company introduced the “APCO” logos as its increasingly central branding. The “APCO Petroleum Products” sign shown in the Wood Oil Company scene was the station sign used for a number of years by Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation, along with the APCO Challenge gasoline branded globes seen atop the gas pumps in the picture. When the APCO Oil Corporation assumed the parts of the Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation in 1960, they quickly changed over to a more streamlined red-white-and-blue logo that only included the “APCO” name.

The artist of the beautiful painting, Michael Young, reports to us that this picture depicted an actual APCO service station that was once located in Leavenworth, Kansas, up until about 1992. In the picture, one can see the street signs for 4th Street and Kiowa Street.

If you are interested in obtaining a print of the painting, visit Michael Young Fine Art.