The intersection of art and commerce has a long and fascinating history. Few brands have been as consistently represented in art as Coca-Cola. From fine art to folk art, the iconic Coca-Cola bottle and brand imagery have permeated various artistic movements and individual creations. This article explores the presence and evolution of Coca-Cola, and by extension, Diet Coke, within art history.
The Enduring Design of the Coca-Cola Bottle
One of the most recognizable shapes globally is the contour fluted lines of the Coca-Cola bottle. Raymond Loewy, a noted industrial designer, described it as the “perfect liquid wrapper,” and it has been celebrated in art, music, and advertising.
In 1899, Joseph Whitehead and Benjamin Thomas, two lawyers from Chattanooga, negotiated the rights to bottle Coca-Cola. The product, a soda fountain drink established just 13 years prior, was gaining popularity. By 1900, Coca-Cola was sold in every state in the US, growing from an average of nine drinks per day in 1886. By 1920, over 1,200 Coca-Cola bottling operations were established.
Initially, the bottles used were simple, straight-sided, and typically brown or clear. The Coca-Cola Company mandated that bottlers emboss the Coca-Cola logo on every bottle. However, competitor brands such as Koka-Nola, Ma Coca-Co, Toka-Cola, and Koke copied or slightly modified the Spencerian script logo, causing consumer confusion.
To address this, The Coca-Cola Company introduced a diamond-shaped label with a colorful trademark in 1906. Unfortunately, the labels often peeled off when Coca-Cola was sold from barrels of ice-cold water. By 1912, The Coca-Cola Bottling Company proposed developing a “distinctive package” to protect their business.
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Harold Hirsch, the lead attorney for The Coca-Cola Company, helped determine how to create a special bottle. The goal was to build Coca-Cola "forever" and ensure it remained the national drink. On April 26, 1915, the Trustees of the Coca-Cola Bottling Association allocated up to $500 to develop a distinctive bottle.
The Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, was tasked with the design. The team, including C.J. and William Root, Alexander Samuelson, Earl Dean, and Clyde Edwards, researched design possibilities. They found inspiration in an illustration of a cocoa bean with an elongated shape and distinct ribs.
Alexander Samuelsson, a Swedish immigrant and shop foreman, submitted a patent registration that was granted on November 16, 1915. This date was later incorporated into the final design of the bottle. The patent submission did not include the signature embossed Coca-Cola script lettering.
In early 1916, a committee of bottlers and Company officials chose the bottle design. The contract specified that the bottles be colored with “German Green,” later called “Georgia Green,” in honor of The Coca-Cola Company's home state. It also required the name of the city placing the glass order to be embossed on the bottom of the bottle, which entertained consumers for decades.
Although the bottle went into production in early 1916, not all bottlers immediately switched their glass stock, as the glass bottles were the most expensive part of their business. The company began national advertising featuring the exclusive bottle to encourage the change.
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In 1923, the patent for the bottle was renewed. The new patent was issued on December 25, 1923, leading to the bottle being nicknamed the “Christmas Bottle.” By 1951, all patents on the shape had expired. The company then approached the Patent Office to grant Trademark status to the bottle's shape, citing its distinctiveness.
The Coke bottle has acquired many nicknames, including the “hobbleskirt” bottle, named after a fashion trend of the 1910s, and the “Mae West” bottle, after the actress's curvaceous figure. The first reference to the bottle as a “contour” occurred in a 1925 French Magazine, La Monde. The shape has evolved over the years, with today's aluminum bottle being a 22nd-century update of the classic design. When King and Family-sized packaging were introduced in 1955, Raymond Loewy helped recast the bottle while maintaining its proportions.
Coca-Cola as a Symbol in Pop Art
While Andy Warhol is most famous for using the Coke bottle in art, Salvadore Dali first incorporated the bottle in his 1943 work, Poetry in America. Later artists like Sir Eduardo Paolozzi also used the form in the late 1940s. Robert Rauschenberg included Coca-Cola Bottles in his 1957 sculpture, A Coca-Cola Plan. However, Warhol’s use of the bottle in his 1962 show, The Grocery Store, cemented the “pop art” movement and enshrined the bottle as a favorite for succeeding generations of artists.
Warhol's "Green Coca-Cola Bottles," created in 1962, exemplifies his pioneering silkscreen technique, which allowed him to produce paintings through a mechanical process that mirrored his use of mass culture subjects. The repetitive imagery and standardized format evoke mechanical reproduction, but the black outlines were likely stamped by hand from a single carved woodblock onto green areas printed in a grid pattern. This creates subtle variations, making each bottle appear simultaneously handmade and mass-produced.
Warhol's work both criticized and glorified the consumerist idols and surface values of America’s media-saturated postwar culture. As Warhol himself stated, “The President drinks coke, and you can drink Coca-Cola, too… A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke.” This highlights the idea that everyone has access to the same things, regardless of their social status.
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Michael Lobel, a Professor of Art History, notes that Warhol deliberately made each bottle distinct, almost creating an abstract painting when viewed as a whole. Warhol was ambitious and wanted his art to be taken seriously, which was why he used abstraction to dominate the art world.
Advertising Art and The Coca-Cola Company
Throughout its history, The Coca-Cola Company has captured the spirit of the times through its advertising art, using the work of top artists, including leading illustrators from America's Golden Age of Illustration. Their work helped create the classic All-American image in the first half of the 20th Century.
The Coca-Cola Company's use of "radiant, vivacious, and breezy" young women in advertising since the late 1800s is well-documented. The earliest use of an artist's signature was on the work of Hamilton King, who illustrated the "Coca-Cola girls" for calendars from 1910 to 1913.
In the mid-1920s, The Coca-Cola Company began working with Haddon H. Sundblom, who would become synonymous with both Coca-Cola and Santa Claus. Sundblom created his first Santa Claus for The Coca-Cola Company in 1931, using a retired salesman named Lew Prentiss as his model. Sundblom continued drawing Santa for holiday campaigns for more than 30 years, creating an enduring American institution.
Other notable artists who worked with The Coca-Cola Company include N.C. Wyeth, Elvgren, Mizen, and Stanley. Folk artists have also used Coca-Cola as a subject for their artwork due to its popularity. During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the Company orchestrated the Coca-Cola Olympic Salute to Folk Art exhibit, featuring the work of folk artists from 54 countries who used indigenous materials to create Coca-Cola contour bottles.
Modern Interpretations: Victoria Sukhasyan's Acrylic Painting
Contemporary artists continue to draw inspiration from the Coca-Cola brand. Victoria Sukhasyan, born in Moscow in 1987, is one such artist. She studied under Mikhail Astaltsov and moved to California in 2018, where she was inspired by the diversity of Los Angeles. Sukhasyan creates traditional watercolor, acrylic, and oil paintings, as well as digital illustrations.
Sukhasyan's original acrylic painting on wood panel, measuring 8x8 inches (20x25 cm), exemplifies this modern interpretation. The artwork, available for $286 USD with shipping included, comes with a certificate of authenticity, an artist biography, a signed postcard, and a business card. The piece ships from the United States and has a 14-day return policy.