BMW Art Cars Head Home

The 16 pieces of the BMW Art Car Collection have been individually displayed in museums across the world, most notably in famous art venues such as New York's Guggenheim Museum and Paris' Louvre. At least one piece of the collection, however, has always remained within the familiar walls of the BMW Museum in Munich, Germany, where the collection began in 1975.

The classic cars are painted by artists such as Calder, Warhol, Hockney and Lichtenstein. Each car is a canvas for uniquely vibrant interpretations of BMW's value of automotive performance and the pure joy that the company believes comes with driving. In 1979 Warhol even painted his entire BMW for the collection in only 23 minutes in order to convey a sense of speed, using quick brushstrokes and colors that appeared to blur together. Two of the cars have an Australian connection, with car seven painted by aboriginal artist Michael Jagamara Nelson, and car eight emblazoned in Ken Done's trademark bright colours.

This year the Art Car Collection is celebrating 35 years of creating exquisite "rolling masterpieces" by welcoming home the entire set of painted cars to Munich. For the first time, all of the pieces are together under one roof in the BMW Museum for the special anniversary exhibition and are on display until September 30.