




These four comical and deftly rendered gouache illustration paintings show four faces of the 1950s Texaco Man. These explore the overly quizzical and confused faces made by a service station attendant tasked with describing the particulars of car troubles that caused distress for 1950s highway tourists. Together, they hint at the dishonesty associated with roadside service stations during the age of gas-guzzling, giant, Detroit steel sleds, where every problem was both complicated and expensive to fix. McCauley worked under master illustrator Haddon Sundblom in Chicago during the late 1930s and the technical skill and commercial flair associated with the “Sundblom Shop” are on abundant display in these vastly humorously nostalgic Americana Petroliana illustrations.