Automotive Hollywood: A Tribute to Harley J. Earl
Knoll was the first to sponsor and help create this photo exhibit at the Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, click above.
Chrysler Headquarters
As a powerful advocate of women's rights, Harley created the first prominent all-female design team in the business world -- it was groundbreaking, controversial, and extremely successful.
After Cranbrook, Richard teamed up with Big-Three auto maker Chrysler to have this exhibit (pictures at left) displayed inside their new world headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mi. during the Fall of 1997.
Collectively displayed and appealing to modern audiences, the Cranbrook exhibit showcased Harley's modern works of art and engineering. Porsche designer Harm Lagaay and Richard E. at the inaugural event with the one-and-only Le Sabre under the beautiful peristyle.
GM Design Center
The photo exhibit traveled to:
Design Center of General Motors Tech Center in Warren, Mi.
The Art Center of Kettering University in Flint, Mi.
Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Mi.
Enlivens a Bygone Era of Grace, Style and National Pride
Automotive Hall of Fame testimonial, "Grandson Richard Earl, who has spent much of the last decade bringing the memory and accomplishments of Harley Earl to the forefront, created the display. He says an appreciation of the underlying strengths of the automotive industry as it is today requires an equal appreciation of the historical reality."
“To fully appreciate the depth and breadth of the American automotive industry, and in particular how important design has been and continues to be in Detroit - the birthplace of automotive design - we need to see and understand how history has unfolded, that's what 'Automotive Hollywood' is all about." More here: Auto Hall of Fame press release.
Later on, the exhibit traveled to Southern California’s inland empire at the Temecula Valley Museum. Local media testimonials:
The Waterfront Pavilion in West Palm Beach, Fl. then hosted the exhibit:
Waterfront Pavilion Flickr photo stream
Waterfront Pavilion Flickr photo stream
