(Top) 1957 Jaguar XKSS Roadster, formerly owned by STeve McQueen. Image Courtesy Petersen Automotive Museum. (Bottom) 1937 Delage D8-120S, Surbaisse, formerly owned by Louis Delage.

ATLANTA, GA.- “The Allure of the Automobile,” the first exhibition to consider the stylistic development of automobiles in the context of prominent design movements such as Art Moderne and Postwar Modernity, will premiere at the High Museum of Art in March 2010. The exhibition will present 18 of the world’s rarest and most brilliantly conceived cars ranging from the 1930s to the mid-1960s, including masterpieces by Bugatti, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Ferrari. These cars combine state-of-the-art engineering, meticulous craftsmanship and groundbreaking design to create works of “rolling sculpture.” The exhibition, made possible by lead sponsor Porsche Cars North America, Inc. will be on view from March 20 through June 20, 2010.

“Our visitors will be surprised to find that today’s vehicles come from a legacy of beauty and innovation comparable to the finest decorative arts that may be found in museum collections,” said Michael E. Shapiro, Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr. Director of the High Museum of Art. “This exhibition will showcase the greatest feats of engineering and luxury design from 1930 to 1965, when cars became synonymous with success, power and wealth. Created for the privileged few, these luxurious, custom-built automobiles embodied speed, style and elegance, and influenced art, architecture, fashion and design.”

The 18 automobiles on view at the High will include one-of-a-kind, custom-built designs that incorporate remarkable advances in automotive styling and engineering. The sections of the exhibition will trace the evolution of the motorcar, examining the contrasts between European and American design, the influence of decorative arts and design and the significant changes in automotive styling and engineering both before and after World War II. The featured automobiles have also won awards at prestigious world events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, broken records on racetracks and were previously owned by noted car enthusiasts such as Hollywood legends Clark Gable and Steve McQueen.

Pre-World War II Design: Opulence and Luxury During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the primary goal of automotive development had been to make cars reliable and easier to use. Then-contemporary body-on-frame automobile construction allowed for the rise of specialized automotive coachbuilders who produced custom bodywork for wealthy clientele. At the time, France was producing some of the finest car designs, along with leading the world in high fashion and decorative arts. Just as the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Moderne of 1925 influenced the decorative arts worldwide and inspired the Art Deco movement, Paris became the center of the aesthetic automotive universe, drawing hundreds of extraordinary designers from other countries. French custom coachwork adorned American Duesenbergs and Packards in addition to French Bugattis, Delages, Delahayes and Hispano-Suizas.

Pre-war American

1934 Packard Twelve Runabout Speedster
1935 Duesenberg SJ Roadster, formerly owned by Clark Gable
1937 Cadillac V16 “World’s Fair” Aero-Dynamic Coupe

Pre-war European

1934 Mercedes-Benz 540K “Autobahn-Kurier” Coupe
1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe
1937 Delage D8-120S, Surbaisse, formerly owned by Louis Delage
1937 Hispano-Suiza H-6C “Xenia” Coupe
1938 4 ¼-liter “Embiricos” Bentley
1938/39 Porsche Type 64 coupe

“Until World War I, most cars had been utilitarian objects with one principal goal: transportation,” said Ken Gross, guest curator of the exhibition. “But as tastes and wealth coincided, designers could create and/or customize an automobile’s body, dramatically altering its silhouette and decoration and producing artful, one-of-a-kind objects. Lavish and often beautifully trimmed with aluminum, chrome, inlaid wood and lacquer, the streamlined silhouettes of the finest mid-century cars represent prime examples of Art Moderne design.”

Post-World War II Design: Speed and Style The second half of the exhibition will study how World War II and the ensuing postwar years brought about radical changes in the automotive aesthetic of the coachbuilder’s world. The war forced many automobile companies, both American and European, into rapid military material development and production, accelerating their understanding and postwar use of lightweight materials, stressed bodywork, fuel injection, specialized production methods and advanced aerodynamics.

The industry shifted away from the expansive, opulent one-of-a-kind cars of the pre-war period toward smaller, faster sports cars. In France, social hostility towards the wealthy and, by extension, the luxury car manufacturers, forced Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye and Hispano-Suiza out of business, signaling the demise of the extravagantly detailed one-off automobile. In Italy , the government infrastructure supported small-volume manufacturers, helping to create an export industry of innovative and high-quality but expensive products in many fields that lifted the country from economic devastation, and came to be known as “The Italian Miracle.” The 1950s and 1960s saw the rise of fast and luxurious sport cars designed by talented engineers and brilliant coachbuilders, launching an era of Italian supremacy in car design into the second half of the century. In Germany , companies like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche rose from the ashes of conflict to present brilliantly conceived engineering triumphs.

Postwar European

1953 Porsche 550 Le Mans/La Carrera Panamerica Coupe
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR “Uhlenhaut” Coupe
1957 Jaguar XKSS Roadster, formerly owned by Steve McQueen
1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
1961 Ferrari 250 Short-Wheelbase Berlinetta, “SEFAC Hot Rod”

Postwar American

1948 Tucker Model 48 Torpedo
1954 Dodge Firearrow III Concept Coupe
1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham
1959 Chevrolet Corvette “Bill Mitchell” Stingray Prototype

The American auto industry geared up for mass production in the booming economic years following World War II. Like the French, many of America ’s luxury car manufacturers shut down. Those that survived used lessons they had learned from the war, such as the use of new lightweight materials, aerodynamics and safety features to produce cars that were more practical for both the consumer and manufacturer. America ’s prosperity in the 1950s brought about a period of exuberance that manifested itself in stylish concept cars, which often became production models.

“The Allure of the Automobile” is organized by the High Museum of Art and is made possible by lead sponsor Porsche Cars North America, Inc. The exhibition’s guest curator is Ken Gross, writer, automotive historian and former executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles . Ron Labaco, the High’s curator of decorative arts and design, is the managing curator. The exhibition will be accompanied by a full-color catalogue.

1937 Cadillac V16 "World's Fair" Aero-Dynamic Coupe