A new art exhibition coming to Los Angeles will incorporate Classic Mercedes-Benz car with Andy Warholthe description of Mercedes-Benz car. Warhol is primarily known for Campbell’s drawings of soup cans and silkscreen prints of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe. Just before his death in 1987, Mercedes commissioned Warhol to create a series of works around their automobiles. It was never completed, but visitors to the Petersen Museum can still get a glimpse of what might have happened.
In 1986, Mercedes was ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary Benz Patent Motorwagen by Karl Benz. The tricycle is considered by many to be the first internal combustion automobile, although some historical documents raise a problem with that statement. In any case, the automaker hired Warhol, a pioneer of the “popular art” movement, to help honor the brand’s history.
Warhol intended to create 80 paintings of important Mercedes models, starting with Patent Motorwagen and Daimler Motor Coach, also from 1886. Only eight models have been completed, depicted in 36 silk works and 13 drawings.
Among them was the Mercedes W125, a race car that won four Grands Prix in the 1937 season. Famously, it produced around 600 hp from an inline turbocharged eight and a top speed version of 268.9 mph with a streamlined bodywork.
The 1954 Mercedes W196 was another Grand Prix racer, a descendant of the W125. Its versions won two consecutive Grand Prix, in 1954 and 1955 with famed driver Juan Manuel Fangio behind the wheel (and Stirling Moss as runner-up). It’s close regarding the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe became the most expensive car ever sold earlier this year.
Last but not least, the show also featured the Mercedes C-111, an experimental sports car with gull wings that, in some versions, was equipped with a mid-mounted rotary engine. Sixteen were built to test Mercedes technology, and the one in display is powered by a V8. Sadly, it never went into production.
Though incomplete, the works are pure Warhol. It’s normal for artists and automakers to collaborate these days, but before Warhol, it was impossible for a true artist to indulge in advertising. He’s rocked the art world with his Campbell’s soup cans, and according to that, the Mercedes commission doesn’t seem too far-fetched. After all, when asked what he loves most, according to the book’s authors Andy Warholthe artist replied: “Money”.
Exhibition of the Petersen Automobile Museum, Andy Warhol: Carspremieres July 23.
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