Dayton Daily News

Car lovers probably think of automotive design as art, but the Cincinnati Art Museum has made it official.

"We began exhibiting cars in March 2007 as a means to expand our visitors' definition of art, to encourage them to think past the traditional paintings and sculpture, and consider great objects of modern design, like cars, as communicative and important artistic expressions," explained Amy Dehan, associate curator of decorative arts and design.

On a recent Monday morning, the latest exhibit — that of local collector Rick Grant's 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale — was carefully moved through the museum.

"It's quite an honor to have your automobile exhibited in a museum of this stature," Grant said. "The car also won the Cincinnati Art Museum Artistic Beauty Award at last year's Ault Park Concours d'Elegance."

The process of getting the dark blue sports coupe into the museum was a well-choreographed exercise that began in the parking lot. The car was first loaded onto a flatbed truck, then raised and rolled off onto the loading dock. Wheel dollies were then placed on the car, and gloved museum employees positioned the car in the freight elevator. After a quick one-floor ride, the Alfa rolled into a gallery, the floor covered with giant sheets of white plastic.

Dale Oakes of EuroClassics and Grant kept a close eye on the slowly rolling car as workers squeezed it between exhibit cases and through narrow doorways, then turned it a sharp left to move through the Egyptian exhibit area. Five hundred feet later, it was pushed onto the raised black platform previously occupied by a Porsche Carrera GT.

This is the sixth car to be exhibited at the museum, along with one motorcycle. Previous exhibits have included a 1950 Ferrari Barchetta, 1969 Lamborghini Miura, 1967 Ferrari 412P, 1969 Jaguar E-type, 2005 Porsche Carrera GT and a 1949 Vincent motorcycle with a Continental Bullet side car.

Grant's Giulia Sprint Speciale is a Bertone bodied machine, produced in limited numbers for only a couple of years.

"I bought one brand-new in 1964, and I found this one about six or seven years ago. It's just a great-looking car," Grant explained.

A 1600cc twin cam 4-cylinder engine with a 4-speed manual transmission powers the car. The interior is gray.

Grant's Alfa Romeo is the first exhibit people see, just inside the front entrance.

"The shapes, lines and colors of automobiles are no less important than the treasured paintings visitors are accustomed to seeing," said Aaron Betsky, museum director. "The exquisite craftsmanship seen in industrial design can introduce visitors to new ways of understanding art."

The Cincinnati Art Museum is located at 953 Eden Park Drive. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free, parking is $4 per vehicle.

See photos of the 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale and its move into the Cincinnati Art Museum here.

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