Great Hall will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from September 10 - November 20, and December 3, 4, 10 and 11. 

silver convertible on exhibition

Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, 1950–2020

November 15, 2020 – June 5, 2022

Detroit designers have always led the way in car design. The futuristic concept cars, roaring muscle cars, and sleek racers designed in and around the city shape our ideas of what a car can be. Working on paper, in clay, and in metal, their ideas drive American car culture and inform the way we get around every day.

This exhibition organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts will highlight the artistry and influence of Detroit car designers working between 1950 and the present day. It will bring together 12 coupes and sedans designed across that 70-year period to highlight significant achievements in style and technology. The 12 cars include unique examples of experimental show cars created for display and iconic production models sold to the mass market. Design drawings will allow you to imagine the creative and innovative processes that bring a vehicle from the drawing board to the street.

A selection of paintings and sculptures will highlight the conversation between the American art world and the car culture from the 1950s to the present day.

Plymouth Barracuda
'71 Barracuda Front End Facelift Concept
Ford Motor Company, GT, 2017
man posing with car exhibition

Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, 1950–2020 is organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Major funding is generously provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund, General Motors, and Mrs. Jennifer Adderley in loving memory of her husband, Mr. Terence E. Adderley.

Additional funding is provided by the Marvin and Betty Danto Family Foundation, Stellantis, The Suburban Collection, Jennifer & Ambassador David Fischer and Darcy & David Fischer, Jr., and Consolidated Rail Corporation on behalf of William Milliken.

Additional support is provided by Barbara and William U. Parfet, Huntington, The Fisher & Company Family, and the Friends of African & African American Art.

Major funding for the exhibition catalogue is generously provided by the Margaret Dunning Foundation.

Explore

Ford Motor Company, GT, 2017. Collection of Jody and Tara Ingle.
Media Kit

Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, 1950-2020

Detroit designers have always led the way in car d...