The Beatles' Rolls-Royce
John Lennon and Yoko Ono donated this iconic 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V touring limousine to the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum in 1977. Its decorative Romany-style floral painting by U.K. artist Steve Weaver originated through a collaboration with Lennon in early 1967, and the car became a zeitgeist symbol of psychedelic esprit. Lennon’s artistic customization of such a proud symbol of British aristocratic materialism and privilege embodied his ironic flagrance of anti-authority and wealth, and the car was used frequently in the UK by fellow Beatles and other rocker pals prior to its relocation (with the Lennons) to New York City circa 1970.
AVMPI Curator of Audiovisual Media Walter Forsberg has authored an authoritative forthcoming publication and photo portfolio about the vehicle's residence at the Smithsonian Institution from 1977 until its auction in 1985. Below are some photographic highlights:
Image below: Cooper-Hewitt exhibition designer Robin Parkinson backs the car into the front doors of the museum's Carnegie Mansion entrance at East 91st Street in Manhattan, in 1977. The car was exhibited from October 3, 1978 through January 7, 1979 as the showpiece of the museum's Ornament in the 20th Century exhibition.
Image below: Presidential daughter-in-law Caron Carter with Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley in the National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT) parkade, July 11, 1978. Photo by Richard K. Hofmeister, SI Photo Services. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives, image #78-9907-18.
Image below: Photo by Dane Penland, SI Photo Services, 1978. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives, image #80-10425.