The Saint Louis Art Museum is presenting "Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918–1939," a major exhibition on view from April 12 to July 27, 2025. Curated by Genevieve Cortinovis, the show brings together automobiles, haute couture, painting, sculpture, photography, film, and decorative arts to explore the intertwined evolution of fashion and car design in early 20th-century France. Highlights include a 1917 painting by Henri Matisse depicting the view from his Renault, juxtapositions of Alfa Romeo and Citroën logos with works by Piet Mondrian and Charles Loupot, and a c. 1927 dress by Suzanne Talbot inspired by Tutankhamun's funerary mask. The exhibition draws heavily from local and midwestern collections, including the Missouri Historical Society.
This exhibition matters because it offers a fresh, interdisciplinary perspective on modernity, showing how art, fashion, and automobile design mutually influenced each other during a transformative period. By connecting Cubist, Futurist, and De Stijl aesthetics with consumer culture and industrial innovation, "Roaring" provides a nuanced understanding of how the automobile became a symbol of speed, freedom, and personal expression. The show's popularity and its masterful design—encouraging visitors to move through the galleries in non-linear patterns—demonstrate the enduring appeal of contextualizing art within broader social and technological shifts.