This dissertation explores the theme of the automobile in American visual art in the first half of the twentieth century, specifically as it appears in painting and printmaking...My analysis explores various ways in which artists responded to the automobile and developed auto-related iconography...The study includes consideration of several artists' use of automobiles as well as depictions made of and from the road.--P. iii.

In the 1950s the American automobile industry arrived in style. In the postwar boom, Americans were flush and full of optimism. They wanted cars that reflected the spirit of the day, and automakers happily obliged. Thus began the decade of fins and whitewalls, craftsmanship and fine-tuned art on wheels--the decade celebrated in this book. Here are the cars that Detroit came up with, drawing on all the muscle and magic of the era, the unprecedented prosperity and new technologies and true feats of design. In splendid, full-color pictures and fact-filled text, the book recreates the iconic era of American automobiles, one car at a time. From stylish sports cars like the Corvette and Thunderbird, to luxury Lincoln and Cadillac sedans, to the inimitable models from independents like Nash, Studebaker, Crosley, American Cars of the 1950s conveys the spirit of automotive America at its best.

The American automobile has always been more than a means of transportation. The inspired fusion of form and function has meant that for more than a century now men and women have been driving about their daily business in machines which can only be described as works of art on wheels.

Eminent contributors from the fields of art, literature, and contemporary culture work together to provide a wide-ranging introduction to American art as well as to the Whitney Museum's unparalleled collection. 105 color plates. 130 b&w illustrations.