Bugatti Type 57 SC "Atlantic," 1938, Etorre Bugatti, designer. Owned by Mr. Ralph Lauren, New York City.
Bugatti
On view at the Cleveland Museum of Art exclusively, July 18, 1999-Sept. 19, 1999
This is the first American exhibition to bring together the work of three generations of the Bugatti family. The Bugatti name is mostly known today for racing and touring cars from the 1920s and 1930s that are highly prized among collectors. The carmakers were descendents of Carlo Bugatti, who achieved international acclaim for his unique designs for furniture and metal work, and whose son, Rembrandt, was a noted sculptor.
Carlo Bugatti (Italian, 1856–1940, active France), Table, inlaid wood (mahogany?), cast and gilded bronze mounts, inlays of ivory or bone, metal, and mother-of-pearl, ca. 1910. CMA, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Fund 1991.45
Tea Set and Salver, silver and ivory, ca. 1907, Carlo Bugatti designer, made by A.A. Hebrard Firm. CMA, The Thomas A. Fawick Memorial Collection 1980.74-.78 and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Fund 1991.46
Highlights include automobiles, including two of the greatest vehicles made by the Bugatti firm, a 1930 Royale and a Type 57 SC, Atlantic (1938) plus a "Baby Bugatti" electric car, as well as 20 sensitively modeled animal sculptures and some drawings by Rembrandt Bugatti and 38 examples of Carlo Bugatti's furniture and cast metal work, chiefly in silver, along with plaster models and drawings by him
The artists:
Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940)
Carlo's sons, Rembrandt (1885-1916) and Ettore (1881-1947) Bugatti
Ettore's son, Jean Bugatti (1909-1939)
Carlo Bugatti was active in Milan beginning in the 1880s chiefly as a designer of furniture. His abundant variations in design blended Islamic and Japanese motifs with circular and ovoid forms, fantastic animal forms and asymmetrical ornamentation, incorporating such novel materials as vellum panels and silk fringes. Carlo moved his family to Paris in about 1902, where he continued to create furniture, but also designed cast metal work, particularly in silver. Rembrandt and Ettore both grew up helping in their father's workshops. Rembrandt Bugatti became a sculptor, especially of animals and chiefly in bronze, from his teenage years around 1900 until his suicide in 1916. Most of his bronzes were cast by the Hebrard firm of Paris (which also cast Rodin's Thinker as well as Carlo's metalworks) and sold through Hebrard's gallery. Self-trained automotive engineer Ettore manufactured automobiles, working in Italy, Germany, and then at his own factory in Molsheim, Alsace. Jean designed automobiles for his father's company in the 1930s until his early death in 1939 in a car accident.
Henry H. Hawley, Curator of Renaissance and Later Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Cleveland Museum of Art, organized the exhibition.
Time-ticketed admission in Cleveland is $5 on weekdays and $7 on Saturdays and Sundays, with discounts for students and groups. An audio tour will be available for $3. For information, contact the Ticket Center at (216) 421-7350. Outside Cleveland, 1-888-CMA-0033.
Buy Bugatti Tickets online now--link directly to Ticketslive
A fully illustrated book will be published by the CMA. It will include a biographical essay on Carlo Bugatti by Mr. Hawley, a biographical essay on Rembrandt Bugatti by Veronique Fromanger Des Cordes, and an essay on Ettore and Jean Bugatti and works by Mickey Mishne.
A complementary exhibition, Jacques-Henri Lartigue Photographs: Automobiles, runs August 14-October 20, 1999
Special Event
The Bugatti Ball. Saturday, September 18, 1999
Hosted by the Young Friends of the Cleveland Museum of Art
This gala inspired by the 1920s begins at 6:30 on the final night of the Bugatti exhibition. Enjoy jazz piano in the lobby, a palm court and a silent auction, and dancing in the courtyard with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Period costumes encouraged.
