Brownstein: Vintage Corvette to rev up exhibition at Montreal museum

It’s not the obvious showroom for a classic sports car, but this 1958 model Corvette prototype, sitting in the lobby of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’s Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion, has had a less than obvious beginning. 

One would have every reason to suspect that this was the creation of some speed-machine enthusiast of the male species. Nope.

Called the Fancy Free Corvette, this eye-popping, silver-olive convertible was designed by the late Ruth Glennie. It will be the centrepiece for the coming MMFA exhibition Parall(elles): A History of Women in Design. 

Glennie was part of a collective dubbed the “Damsels of Design” by General Motors. The company, having learned that women influenced 70 per cent of auto purchases in the 1950s, reached out to this six-member group to bring their design skills to some of their vehicle prototypes in staging GM’s Feminine Auto Show in 1958.

Apart from the Corvette, the Parall(elles) exhibit, orchestrated by MMFA curator of Decorative Arts and Design Jennifer Laurent, will showcase 250 art works and objects created by female designers in Canada and the U.S. during the past 150 years. It will run from Feb. 18 to May 28. 

“When we think about design historically, the term design is mostly always associated with industrial design, which has excluded things like artisanal craft work, bead work, ceramics, embroidery and, yes, even cars — all of which have had an important impact on our material culture,” says Mary-Dailey Desmarais, the MMFA’s chief curator. 

“But what will come as a surprise to so many is that it was a woman behind the design of this Corvette prototype. So we really want to bring out this story as well as all the other stories associated with the objects in this show to celebrate the importance of women designers.” 

When word first came out about the Fancy Free Corvette coming to town, many may have assumed the venue for presenting it would be the Palais des congrès, where the Montreal Auto Show just wrapped up last Sunday.

Then again, this could prove to be a clever marketing move and a boon in bringing a new crowd — car aficionados — to the museum. 

This is not the first time the museum has had a car parked in its exhibition space. In 1995, the MMFA staged the homage Beauté mobile, and as part of its Village Global exhibit in 2003-04 included the Porsche once owned by Janis Joplin in surprisingly good condition. 

But the Fancy Free Corvette, on loan from German collector Jürgen Reimer, is in a class all its own. With its exterior sleek lines, sparkling grilles and deluxe comfy interior and even those classy whitewall tires (which visitors won’t be able to kick for testing purposes), it certainly meets the definition of an objet d’art — even to those not particularly enamoured of automobiles, particularly two-seater demons that can leave others in their dust.

Yet from a safety point of view, Desmarais notes that this was the first Corvette prototype to come equipped with seatbelts — an excellent idea considering it could hit speeds of up to 260 kilometres an hour. Probably not much of a surprise that this simple technology had previously eluded the Corvette boy designers.   

Fact is, however, if this were simply a painting of the vehicle, it would leave many visitors in awe and probably be gobbled up by collectors.

And speaking of collectors, how did this one get beyond the mitts of comedian and former late-night TV host Jay Leno, who has an inventory of classic cars to match any dealer? 

Then again, with only 61 miles on its odometer, the Fancy Free Corvette — which has undergone an engine and chassis change, among other modifications, but still has its original transmission — would probably command a price too rich for even Leno, although Desmarais does not know its current cash value. 

“It is just so beautiful with its attention to detail, its innovations, its history. Its form and content are remarkable,” marvels Desmarais while scoping the car. “It really is a work of art.” 

The Fancy Free Corvette can be viewed in the exhibition Parall(elles): A History of Women in Design, taking place Feb. 18 to May 28 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Information: 514-285-2000. 

bbrownstein@postmedia.com

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