Andy Warhol’s Car Series are now on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibition that opened its gates this week is open all the way until January 2023. The series is back in the United States for the first time in over 30 years.
There are forty artworks, together with five Mercedes-Benz models of the series of eight that inspired the artist. Twenty-seven screen prints on canvas and thirteen drawings make up the exhibition. One of them is the iconic C 111-II research car from 1970. The Formula One car W 196 R and the W 198 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe brought their racing DNA to Los Angeles, California.
Andy Warhol worked on the Cars series in late 1980s, before he passed away in February 1987. His work was a tribute to the 100th anniversary of Mercedes-Benz. The series would initially include 80 pictures of 20 car models from eight different decades. He eventually managed to complete only 36 screen prints on canvas and 13 drawings.
Most of them are today part of the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection. The collection made its debut in 1977 and currently is one of the world’s most important European corporate collections with an international reputation. Around 3,000 works by more than 650 artists make up the impressive series. Over the years, the creations were on display at the world’s major museums across the world. Guests in New York, Detroit, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Singapore, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires go the chance to see some of the works.
Now guests of the Petersen Museum will have to pay $18 dollars to visit the exhibition. There is a 12-dollar admission fee for children and 17 dollars for seniors.
Andy Warhol’s portfolio includes the famous “Coca-Cola Bottles”, the “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and the dollar bills that rocked America in the 1960s. His mission was to showcase the American branding heritage to as many as possible. Mission accomplished.
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