Mullin Automotive Museum – Grand Salon

The Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California announced several new additions to its collection of art, furniture and automobiles in celebration of the third anniversary of the museum’s opening.

Over the past three years, Peter and Merle Mullin and the Mullin Automotive Museum staff have established it as one of the premier collections of Art Deco art and automobiles. Since its founding, the Mullin Automotive Museum was awarded “Best of Show” at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for its 1935 Voisin C25 Aerodyne, exhibited 10 automobiles at the 37th annual Rétromobile in Paris, France, and published a series of three books – The Art of Bugatti, French Curves and Vitesse ~ Élégance – honoring the visionaries behind the automobiles and motorcycles of the Mullin collection.

Furthermore, in the past year, the Mullin Automotive Museum launched the internationally acclaimed “La Vision de Voisin” exhibition – celebrating the life of designer and aviation pioneer Gabriel Voisin, unveiled the virtually completed coachbuild of Jean Bugatti’s famed 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe Chassis #64002 and was recognized by the International Historic Motoring Awards as one of the top four automotive museum collections in the world.

The Mullin Automotive Museum’s collection of art and automobiles has grown significantly in size since first opening, gathering the world’s largest collection of Voisin automobiles as well as one of the most expansive private collections of Bugatti automobiles and Bugatti family artwork. Additionally, the facility grew to include the Galerie d’Arts, an automotive-themed art gallery curated from Peter and Merle Mullin’s growing personal art collection, an expanded display of finely crafted furniture, sculpture and musical instruments from the Bugatti family, one of history’s most influential art families. For 2013, the Mullin Automotive Museum continues to grow its extensive collection of French Art Deco era automobiles, motorcycles, art and furniture with a number of additions that include but are not limited to:

Vehicles

• 1932 Bugatti Type 55 Driven by Charles Brunet and Zeno Zehender in the 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans
• 1935 Citroen T-7C Cabriolet
• 1912 Clement Bayard
• 1930 G.A.R. Type B5 Roadster
• 1924 Panhard & Levassor X-47 Limousine
• 1939 Bugatti Type 49
• 1931 Bugatti Type 50S
• 1931 Peugeot P107S Tour de France Motorcycle

Art and Furniture

• Several significant René Lalique (1860-1945) crystal radiator mascots, including Hirondelle, La Grenouille and Vitesse from 1928-1929
• Very rare Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916) Panther and Deer bronze statues, circa 1908
• A pair of Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940) parchment armchairs, circa 1900
• 1928 Le Pilote Bugatti lithograph from famed French painter and illustrator Géo Ham (1900-1972)

“We’ve been extremely pleased with the response both nationally and internationally to the museum, attracting visitors and media from all over the U.S., and even as far as Europe, India, Japan and South America,” said Peter Mullin, founder and chairman of the Mullin Automotive Museum. “This enormous reception brings us great joy and strikes the chord that the automobile has truly come of age as art.”

In the coming year, the Mullin Automotive Museum will introduce several of its latest efforts in the preservation and education of Art Deco era design, which include a major exhibition honoring the creative masterworks of the Bugatti family, the long-awaited debut of the completed 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe Chassis #64002 coachbuild and the launch of a renovated website that will be not only educational and focused on technology and design, but also a valuable reference for media and automotive historians alike.

For more information, visit www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com. Reservations to visit the Mullin Automotive Museum can be made online or by calling (805) 385-5400.

[Source: Mullin Automotive Museum]