Rolling Sculpture: Streamlined Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles

Rolling Sculpture: Streamlined Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles

By Larry Nutson
Executive Editor and Bureau Chief
Chicago Bureau
THE AUTO CHANNEL

The Vero Beach Museum of Art is the principal cultural arts facility of its kind on Florida's Treasure Coast. On a recent visit to Central Florida I took in the special exhibition now in place that presents a select group of rare automobiles and motorcycles. These vehicles demonstrate how automobile designers translated the popular new 1930’s concept of aerodynamic efficiency into exciting machines that looked as though they were moving while at rest.

Five years in the making, the exhibition presented many complexities and logistical challenges as the museum worked through the disruptive period of the recent years. Ken Gross, former Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, served as Guest Curator. He notes: “the twenty rare cars and two motorcycles in this exhibition were designed without the myriad safety and crash-absorbing constraints that affect the look and shape of the modern automobile. The operative charge was that they be sleek and streamlined.“

The exhibition as a whole is one of the finest curations of cars of the Art Deco period, valued today in multi-millions of dollars, that I have had the privilege to enjoy. A limited edition hard-cover catalogue of the vehicles on display is available for purchase.

This special exhibition runs from January 28 – April 30, 2023.

The Vero Beach Museum of Art is located at 3001 River Park Drive, Vero Beach, Florida. https://www.vbmuseum.org