How a vehicle winds up in the Museum of Modern Art collection NICHOLAS MARONESE
Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is considered one of the most important museums of art and culture in the world. At the very least, it’s been from its inception one of the world’s most progressive.
It was the first to establish an Architecture and Design department, three years after its opening in 1929, and was also one of the first to host an automobile-themed exhibit, Eight Cars, in 1951.
Of course, it did take until 1972 for MoMA to add its first car, a 1946 Cisitalia 202 GT, to its permanent collection of contemporary art, which numbers some 200,000 pieces. But the museum has picked up the pace, this month adding its ninth car, a red 1973 Citroën DS.
There are many boxes a vehicle must tick before being selected for the vaunted halls of MoMA. Here’s how the museum decides if a car is worthy of its collection.
SECRET WISH LIST
Since it got its hands on that Cisitalia, the museum has kept a “wish list” of about a dozen automobiles, though it has evolved as acquisitions such as its 1953 Willys Jeep M28A1 and 1959 VW Beetle were crossed off and new wants have been added.
The museum is looking for “the great achievements” in car design, explains Paul Galloway, a specialist with MoMA’s Architecture & Design Collection, “the specific moments where the technology, the craft, the artistry, and the cultural importance crosses the threshold into a masterpiece.”
RESEARCH THE CAR
When a car on the list is singled out for possible acquisition, specialists such as Galloway will start researching the vehicle and building an argument for why MoMA needs it.
Every piece picked up by the design department has to represent a “great expression of design” in its field, whether it be a chair, helicopter or Airstream trailer (MoMA owns examples of each). The staff will ask “Is this object important? Did this change history?” They will specifically avoid asking “Is this car art?”
“It’s often said design is art that enters your everyday life: art you use,” Galloway says. “Whether or not something is ‘art,’ who cares?”
SOURCE THE CAR
Next the museum will find the specific example it wants, typically by reaching out to its manufacturer. When MoMA acquired its 1968 Fiat 500f last summer, it was assisted by Roberto Golito, designer of the new 500.
Other times it’s a matter of “waiting for the right one,” like when an original-paint survivor 1965 Porsche 911 was donated by its owners last year.
The manufacturer will also often gift the car to the museum, which, thankfully for MoMA, often means cost mostly isn’t an issue.
ACQUIRE THE CAR
The museum’s curators and specialists will then approach MoMA’s acquisition committee, made up of trustees and patrons, for approval.
They will underscore to the committee how the piece will better help the museum “document contemporary creativity,” Galloway says, and, once given the thumbsup, acquire the car.
PREPARE THE CAR
Once acquired, a car in the museum’s collection will never drive again, and has to be made to not run for the safety of patrons and other pieces.
“A lot of car collectors say we murder our cars, that we’re turning them into sculptures ... I understand that perspective, but at the same time, we are a museum in midtown Manhattan; it’s just not feasible.”
DISPLAY THE CAR
New pieces frequently get spotlighted in an exhibit. The cars often sit up on a plinth, and are, if possible, watched over by a guard.
“People are very good about not touching the Matisse or the Picasso, but can’t stop themselves when they see the (Jaguar) E-Type,” Galloway says.
It may be some time before the Citroën sees its own plinth, but Galloway has no doubt it’ll be a draw when it does.