MIAD Honors Brooks Stevens with the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile and More

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Photo by LPLT / Wikimedia Commons

Excalibur Series III Roadster SS

Excalibur Series III Roadster SS

Buying a new Cadillac may be impress some people, But getting an Excalibur could have doubled the impression. 

“In 1965, an Excalibur cost about $6,000, compared to a Cadillac that would sell for about $3,000,” MIAD's Stacey Steinberg of the price of the luxury automobile manufactured in Milwaukee in its first year of commercial availability. 

Several examples of those collectible cars, some shipped overseas by European Excalibur enthusiasts, will be displayed at Cars & Coffee, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25 event at the Erie Street galleries of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD). That display of Excaliburs and other impressive rides is one attraction of the closing day in MIAD’s larger Brooks Stevens & Excalibur Anniversary and Design Celebration starting Friday, Aug. 23. The fete honoring Stevens and his firm’s contributions to automotive design are being held in conjunction with Brooks Stevens Inc. and the Harley-Davidson Museum alongside MIAD. 

High End, Functional and Fun

Stevens’ high-end autos, based on the design of the 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK and made in Milwaukee until 1997, are far from the only products attached to Stevens’ name. The design and functionality of numerous items people the world over currently use would be unthinkable without the innovations of Stevens and his firm's staff. 

Says Steinberg of the enduring influence, “Brooks Stevens was a major contributor to the visual culture of the 20th century, designing products that helped shape and define the American post-World War II consumer culture. As an early American industrial designer, he helped shape how objects around us look and sometimes function.” Though Brooks Stevens Inc. is responsible for breakthroughs simple as the wide-mouth peanut butter jar (Stevens loved the spread and was frustrated by the difficulty of finishing off a container of it in the jars’ previous shape), the company’s founder had a special affinity for transportation. Harley-Davidson’s Hydra-Glide, the first iteration of the Jeep Wagoneer, Studebaker’s Gran Turismo Hawk and Evinrude outboard motors figure highly among the array of airplanes, trains, packages, toys, appliance and other items in which Stevens and his crew had a hand in making aesthetically attractive and useful. 

Roll Out the Weiner!

Another car tied to Brooks Stevens Inc.’s genius—and Americans’ enjoyment of sausage—will be making an appearance at Cars & Coffee.  ​

Of Stevens’ refashioning of Oscar Mayer's famed Weinermobile, introduced in 1936 as a 13-foot metal hot dog on wheels, Steinberg says, “Stevens designed the 1958 Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, a futuristic, bubble-nosed wienie on wheels incorporating a bun into the design for the first time. Built on a Willys Jeep chassis, Stevens’ design would influence the next three generations of vehicles.” As for the current use of the cruising frankfurters, “A fleet of Wienermobiles are driven cross country by ‘hotdoggers’ and used to promote and advertise Oscar Mayer products in the United States,” Steinberg elaborates. 

Though they are elements of a of a larger ticketed event, Sunday morning's Cars & Coffee and the exhibition “A Legacy of Design: Celebrating Brooks Stevens” are free events open to the public. They are also parts of a triple observation, as Steinberg explains. 

“We’re celebrating a trifecta of 2024 anniversaries: the 50th of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD); the 90th of Brooks Stevens Design; and the 60th of the Excalibur, designed by Brooks Stevens.” 

Here’s a brief feature from 2022 on the Excalibur on TMJ4 News:

And a bit on the wonder of the Weinermobile may be seen here:

Event Listings: August 25-August 31

Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD)

• Cars & Coffee MIAD Event
• Sunday, August 25, 8 a.m.–12 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Drop-In Art Making: Kohl’s Art Studio
• Sunday, August 25, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Jewish Museum Milwaukee

• The Colors of Chagall: A Family Art Day
• Sunday, August 25, 1–3 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Drop-In Tours: Architecture and Collection Highlights
• Sunday, August 25, 2–3 p.m.

MARN Art+Culture Hub

• The City of Benedict della Crosse Matinee
• Sunday, August 25, 2–6 p.m.

Villa Terrace Decorative Art Museum

• Work from Home Wednesday: coworking session at the Villa
• Wednesday, August 28, 12:00 pm– 3:00 pm

Villa Terrace Decorative Art Museum

• Guided Tour of the Villa
• Wednesday, August 28, 3:00 pm– 4:00 pm

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Thursday Nights at MAM
• Thursday, August 29, 4:00 pm–8:00 pm

Charles Allis Art Museum

• Dual Opening Reception for "Talk Back Chapter Two" and "left with your memories"
• Thursday, August 29, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm

MOWA|DTN

• Opening Party: Triangulador: The Art of Liubóv Szwako
• Friday, August 30, 5– 7 p.m.  

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Drop-In Art Making: Kohl’s Art Studio
• Saturday, August 31, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Story Time in the Galleries
• Saturday, August 31, 10:30–11 a.m.

Historic Third Ward

• Annual Third Ward Arts Festival
• Saturday, Aug 31, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Museum of Wisconsin Art

• Black Ash Pounding Demonstration with Ho-Chunk brothers Sidney and William Hall
• Saturday, August 31, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Charles Allis Art Museum

• Story Time at the Allis
• Saturday, August 31, 1–3 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

• Drop-In Tours: Architecture and Collection Highlights
• Saturday, August 31, 2–3 p.m.

Saint Kate, the Arts Hotel

• AIR Farewell Event for Anwar Floyd Pruitt
• Saturday, August 31, 5–8 p.m.