Von Dutch; Pioneer in Automobile Pin-Striping

Von Dutch, 63, who pioneered artistic pin-striping on sport cars and hot-rods in the 1940s and 1950s. The reclusive artist, whose real name was Kenneth Howard, embellished automobiles with what one critic described as “Brancusi spires, cool fine lines etched like spider tracings.” He befriended actor and auto enthusiast Steve McQueen and built the Winton Flyer, the yellow automobile featured in McQueen’s film “The Reivers.” An exhibition of Von Dutch work is planned for next June at the Laguna Art Museum. On Sept. 19 in Santa Paula of liver disease.