GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING

Automobile enthusiasts from around the country have gathered in Chicago this week for the 2007 Chicago Auto Show. Though the hottest designs and latest innovations on wheels will be rolling out of McCormick Place this Sunday, Chicagoans can continue to get their fix for the fast lane at the Arthur Ross exhibit at the Pritzker Military Library. We’ve learned that the library offers a glimpse at our culture greater than most would expect from a military library.

Arthur Ross, a Chicago native, developed his talent for the art of planes, trains, automobiles and the figure as a student of the Chicago Institute for the Arts. Later, as a Creative Designer at General Motors’ Camouflage and War Section during World War II, he perfected his technical skills illustrating military instruction manuals and designing military equipment, camouflage and small arms. Ross eventually became the Chief Designer of both Cadillac and Oldsmobile lines.

Ross’ exhibit, The Art of Arthur Ross, will be on display at the Pritzker Military Library through March 1st. The multi-media exhibition features 11 original military-themed works and a compilation of 100 works dating from 1931 through 1964. The display highlights Ross’ modern stylistic representations of the glamour of automobiles and transportation in the 1940s.

The Art of Arthur Ross is a modern way for automobile enthusiasts to get a taste of the historic automobile designs that influenced a culture. “The images could easily fit right in with iconography commonly associated with Southern California car clubs today,” describes Martina Sheehan of Time Out Chicago. The exhibit is another unique collection the Pritzker Military Library has brought to its members and the general public.

History is not only found in dry textbooks. The Pritzker Military Library shows us that history is available all around us in many forms. Check out The Art of Arthur Ross before the collection hits the road!