Airstream Bambi @ MOMA, NYC

by VINTAGE AIRSTREAM on JUNE 5, 2009

Airstream Inc.,(1960).Photo by Robin Holland.Image courtesy MOMA, NY.

While this isnt particularly new news, it does have a place here and it is particularly noteworthy that only a very, very small handful of vehicles have ever been elevated to the status of works of fine art by MOMA and placed in their permanent collection.

Industrial design taken to its highest level indeed. When your product gets placed in the Modern Museum of Art you have officially earned the right to brag a little.

Here is the original press release from Airstream:

JACKSON CENTER, Ohio, March 6 — Thor Industries, Inc. , the largest manufacturer of recreation vehicles and mid-size buses, announced today that The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York had acquired from Thor an Airstream Bambi travel trailer for the Museum’s collection. Airstream, Thor’s flagship brand, is the world’s most recognized recreation vehicle, and is an icon of American design. The restored 1963 Airstream Bambi, representing the first design iteration of a model line that continues today, over 40 years later, will go on public display at MoMA on March 7. The Airstream Bambi becomes only the seventh automotive design in MoMA’s collection, joining famed designs such as the Volkswagen Beetle, the Jaguar E-Type, and the original Jeep.


“The selection of Airstream by MoMA for the collection reflects Airstream’s status as a true American icon, and further enhances Airstream’s already superior reputation for quality, innovation and design,” said Richard Riegel, Thor Industries Group President. “Airstream is recognized worldwide as a metaphor for wanderlust, adventure and freedom and as an ideal of the American family experience. We are exceptionally proud of this accolade.”

And a Few other beautiful Airstreams: