By Wallace Wyss
One of the greatest car paintings ever made is not, as one would expect, a single portrait of a single car. No, it’s a mural. And it isn’t just one mural on one wall, it goes on and on in room after room. And as you will see, it is powerful, evocative and controversial.
Commissioned in 1932 by Museum Director William Valentiner, the murals, collectively known as Detroit Industry, cover all four walls of the Garden Court in the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, and number 27 in all. Bankrolling it was Henry Ford’s son, Edsel B. Ford, then president of the Ford Motor Company, who was trying in every way to escape the grinding pressure imposed by being the son of the most famous industrial leader in the world. [Read more…] about Automobile Art and the Detroit Industry Murals