The Saint Louis Art Museum is presenting an exhibition titled "Art and the Automobile in Pre-WWII France," showcasing a collection of vintage French automobiles from the 1920s and 1930s. The show features iconic vehicles such as the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 designed by Ugo Zagato, the 1939 Bugatti Type 57C "Shah," and the 1937 Delage DB-120, among others, drawn from private collections and institutions like the Petersen Automotive Museum and The Henry Ford.
The exhibition matters because it explores the intersection of fine art and industrial design during a golden age of French automotive craftsmanship, highlighting how these cars were not merely machines but sculptural objects of luxury and innovation. By placing these vehicles in a museum context, the show invites visitors to reconsider the aesthetic and cultural significance of pre-war automobile design, bridging the worlds of art, engineering, and social history.