Artist Fremont F. Ellis bought a Studebaker
Avanti in 1963. In 1967 he traded the original car plus one
of his paintings to Ray Altman, brother of Avanti Motors founder Nate Altman in exchange for his
1967 Avanti II that was displayed
in his studio with his paintings.
The Avanti has been called "mobile
art", "art on wheels", moving sculpture",
and is often exhibited as an American design icon. The Avanti
has been included in an industrial design exhibit at the Louvre
in Paris, in a Coca Cola show in the British
Design Museum in London, in an exhibit at the Toyota
Automobile Museum in Japan, and in a Raymond
Loewy exhibit at The Smithsonian's Renwick
Gallery in Washington, DC. Its legacy includes World speed
records for a production car and notable engineering firsts,
yet its reputation as a work of art is perhaps its most enduring
and remarkable feat.
Fremont F. Ellis
(1897-1985) used an impressionistic style noted for its bold
application of impasto, fluency of line, and animated use of
the Southwest's vibrant light. View
Ellis Paintings in the Avanti Gallery
