Fiat 500 on Display at MoMA NY

The Value of Good Design Exhibition

The Fiat 500 F series will officially go on public display from February 10 to May 27, 2019, as part of The Museum of Modern Art’s “The Value of Good Design” exhibition in New York.

Following last year’s acquisition of the Fiat 500 by The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Fiat 500 F series will be on public display at the Museum for the first time from February 10 to May 27, 2019, as a highlight of The Value of Good Design, an exhibition drawn from MoMA’s collection of industrial design.

“[The] 500 is an icon of Italian style that never went out of fashion and that over the decades gained fans all around the world because of its key features and strong personality,” said Luca Napolitano, head of EMEA Fiat and Abarth brands. Since 1957, Fiat 500 has always brought colors and smiles to everyday lives on the roads of the world, becoming an ambassador of the ‘Bel Paese’ and an icon of style and design made in Italy.”

Video | Fiat 500

The model on display at MoMA will be a 500 F series, the most popular 500 ever, produced from 1965 to 1972. Counting the other versions (namely, the Sport, D, L and R) of the first generation, a total of more than four million cars were produced from 1957 to 1975. The development of inexpensive, reliable cars like the Fiat 500 was essential for the motorization of the post-war European continent. Through its design and its centrality to the story of mid-century Italy, the 500 embodies many of the principles that typified mid-century modernist design and connects it to themes explored in works throughout the Museum’s collection.

Commonly referred to as the “Cinquecento,” the Nuova 500 was designed by designer and engineer Dante Giacosa and launched in 1957. Giacosa, who joined Fiat in 1927, was responsible for many of the most important designs to emerge from the automaker during his 43-year career, including the original 500 “Topolino” and the later 500 “Nuova.” A compact, rear-engine city car, the 500 was conceived as an economical car for the masses.

The Value of Good Design Exhibit

Featuring objects from domestic furnishings and appliances to ceramics, glass, electronics, transport design, sporting goods, toys, and graphics, The Value of Good Design (February 10–May 27, 2019) explores the democratizing potential of design, beginning with MoMA’s Good Design initiatives from the late 1930s through the 1950s, which championed well-designed, affordable contemporary products.