"The Allure of the Automobile" at Atlanta's High Museum of Art

Though "The Allure of the Automobile" at the High Museum of Art Atlanta offers a new perspective on the exquisite contours of rare 20th century classic automobiles, the exhibit features automobiles as a work of decorative art -- the way car enthusiasts have always seen them. 

The 18 cars selected for the exhibit expand on former Museum of Modern of Art curator Arthur Drexler's premise for the 1951 MoMA show "Eight Automobiles." As Drexler said, "Automobiles are hollow, rolling sculpture. They have interior spaces corresponding to an outer form, like buildings, but the designer's aesthetic purpose is to enclose the functioning parts of an automobile, as well as its passengers, in a package suggesting directed movement along the ground."

"Allure of the Automobile" takes this concept further with a retrospective glance at the defining era of coach building. Cars are divided into pre and post-World War II designs, including American makes like the the 1934 Packard and the 1954 Dodge Firearrow, and European makes, like the 1937 Delage D8-120s and the 1938/39 Porsche Type 64. The exhibit marks the first time the one-of-a-kind Porsche Type 64 shell has left Germany.

Ron Labaco, High's curator of decorative art and design, says the museum has never featured automobiles before, but the show has allowed him to find many parallels between the car and art world. "It's about what denotes a car as a masterpiece," said Labaco. "It's a direct connection between decorative arts. You can compare them with Faberge Eggs."

The Allure of the Automobile opens to the public Mar.21 and runs through June 20, 2010.