Academy of Art University Automobile Museum

About

The Academy of Art University Automobile Museum is a non-profit museum located in San Francisco, California. The museum serves both as a conservator of automotive history and as a tool for students in the industrial design department at the Academy of Art University, particularly those in the Automotive Restoration program. In 2015, Forbes estimated the value of the museum's collection to be $70 million. With over 42 exhibits on display, the museum is accessible for both AAU students as well as the general public. A former President of the Academy of Art University, Richard A. Stephens, started the museum and is the proprietor of over half of the cars. The Stephens family—including Richard's daughter and current University President Elisa Stephens—began to seriously collect antique cars in the 1990s. The first car purchased for the collection was a 1929 Packard, which was built the same year that the university was founded. In 1999, AAU purchased its main showroom at 1849 Washington Street. In 2009, the museum exhibited 30 cars from the 1930s at the 52nd Annual International Auto Show. In 2013, 34 vehicles were featured at the International Auto Show, presented by Autotrader.com. The vehicles were chosen by AAU's Industrial Design Department Director Tom Matano. Kevin Diamond, director of the show said: "We are proud to be able to exhibit vehicles from the museum that represent the elegance, style, craftsmanship, technology and innovative spirit of automotive designers past and present." In 2016, over 30 cars from the museum's collection were displayed at the 59th annual International Auto Show at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Hemmings Motor News’ Dan Stoner described the museum as having "one of the largest collections of antique cars on the West Coast." In 2018, Academy of Art University auctioned off 50 cars at Mecum Las Vegas for $3.7 million. Early in 2018, Robert Fisher was announced as the new CEO of the Academy of Art University Automobile Museum. In May 2019, four cars were sold for $467,500; and 15 more cars were sold in August 2019 for $1.69 million.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.