The Allure of the Automobile

Portland Museum of Art

We took the light rail into Portland.

Portland is big on roses. The first rosebush was shipped n 1837 around Cape Horn and presented to Anna Marian Pittman on the day she married Jason Lee. We saw lots of roses walking downtown Portland.

When I saw that the museum was having an exhibit called "The Allure of the Automobile", I wanted to go.

This is a 1955 Jaguar. The hood is held on with a leather straps. Leave it to the English to come up with a strange combination of beauty and absurdity.

My favorite in the exhibit was this straight-eight Duesenberg. What a beast. You can keep your Bugatti, the Mercedes and any Aston-Martins. Given my choice, I'd drive this one home in a heartbeat. It was said that only a Duesenberg could pass another Duesenberg , and that only with the first owners permission. The Duesenberg is THE most desirable of classic cars, often selling at auction for well over a million dollars. The 1937 Model J did a 152 MPH at the Bonneville Salt Flats for over an hour. Tom Mix and Rudolf Valentino each bought one. They sold new for $18,000 when the average physician made $3,000 a year. The Duesenberg fell into obscurity during WWII and the model J changed hands after the war for $100 or $200.

We spent about three hours wandering the museum. The Northwest native people's artifacts were very colorful.

Some of the more modern things can make you think.

I liked this one a lot. the little squares are skulls and dice.

Outrageous blown glass.

The museum had lots of photography.

This is absolutely my favorite. "The Dishwasher" is so realistic that you look at the chest closely to see if it's moving. You expect the figure to lift his head and look at you. You can see veins and tendons in the hands.

A good day...