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Rolling Sculpted Steel by William Stewart
Ever
since I was a little boy, I have been fascinated with automobiles. On trips, my dad would give me a nickel
for every car I identified correctly – this was the ‘60’s and most cars were
very distinctive. I racked
up. If this happened today, I
might not even be able to buy a candy bar – automobiles all seem to look
alike. My fascination has not
waned. I still love and appreciate
automobiles, especially those from my childhood. If my father was still alive, he’d be proud that I saved all
those nickels and bought some of the cars I had identified when I was a
kid. They have withstood the test
of time – transforming themselves info beautiful works of art. What
makes a car a work of art? In my
opinion, it is a combination of appreciation and desirability over many years, and
distinguishing elements that seem almost alien now like the gorgeous fins of
the late fifties and early sixties.
Some of the best examples are from Chrysler, Desoto, and Cadillac. Paint and color combinations seem to
have been inspired by children’s birthday cakes. Rooflines appeared more architectural than automotive.
Designed and styled with imagination
and little real concern for safety and fuel consumption, these automobiles
incorporated many style changes every year. No two years were ever the
same.
My
major interest in automobiles hovers around the years of 1953 to 1962, when
cars appeared more extreme and were styled by great designers, such as Harley
Earl (who is credited with being the first automobile designer) and Bill
Mitchell for General Motors, Virgil Exner for Chrysler Corporation, and Roy
Brown, the designer of the now infamous Edsel for the Ford Motor Co. Today, cars from the 50’s and 60’s seem to embody many of my fond memories of culture and romance. The bulbous fenders and the simplicity of style of my 1954 GMC pickup to the flamboyance of my 1959 Desoto Adventurer, resembling a Las Vegas casino, with slabs of gold anodized aluminum trim on its sides and tail lights that look like a vintage radio tower. My 1961 Cadillac Coupe De Ville is “conservatively” designed compared to the Desoto, which is like a folded piece of origami with fins and skegs that would seem more appropriate on an early Russian rocket. These cars were styled to look like they were going fast just standing still, which is ironic because today, the automotive performance of an entry level Toyota would leave these gilded monsters in the dust.
Apparently,
beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nothing better illustrates this than my 1958 Edsel. When this car first appeared many
thought the front grill looked like a toilet seat, a horse collar, and even a
vagina. Its sales were doomed, but
Roy Brown’s creation has a boatload of admirers now. It was beautiful because it bucked the mainstream, and
rather than look stylishly forward, it looked to the past for inspiration, like
a Packard from the 30’s; rare for its time. The
50’s and 60’s were truly the golden age of chrome. The designers applied so much trim and decoration that
it
borders on excess. There were
two-tone and even tri-tone paint jobs.
The fashion industry influenced the colors and textures of the
interiors. There was even a car
designed for women – a 1955 and 1956 Dodge La Femme that came with a makeup kit
and purse. There were so
many models, colors, and trim to choose from that many of the ones that survive
are
unique. This was a time of
optimism in the auto industry and every change was only a year away.
Collecting
cars is very much like collecting art.
One seems to be drawn to certain years and styling features. There are the cars of the “fin
years” (50’s and 60’s), muscle
cars (the late 60’s and early 70’s), prewar classics (Packards and Cadillacs),
etc. I like putting
examples together that embody the unusual and not necessarily the popular. My collection includes the Desoto and
Edsel which were marks that were cancelled in the early sixties because of the
lack of sales. This and
their unusual styling make Rolling sculpture you can interact with,
floating around the corners, looking through vast amounts of glass, watching
the world watch you! This is the
typical experience of driving or riding in one of these beautiful machines from
my golden age. At home in the
street, a garage, or even a living room, these cars are truly works
of art.
Bill Stewart is
an interior designer. He established his residential design firm, William
Stewart Designs, Inc., in 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia. Bill splits his time between his homes in Atlanta and
California. He has a collection of
five vintage cars that reside in California. |
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