The celebrated Mullin Collection of French Art Deco motor cars has found a permanent home at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Assembled over nearly three decades by Peter and Merle Mullin, the collection is widely regarded as one of the world’s pre-eminent gatherings of pre-war French automobiles, comprising landmark models from Bugatti, Delahaye, Delage and Talbot-Lago. Peter Mullin described the creativity and craftsmanship behind these extraordinary machines as ‘sculpture in motion’.
Following Peter Mullin’s death in 2023 and the subsequent closure of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California, part of the collection was sold at two Gooding & Co. auctions in 2024. The remaining core has now been gifted to the Petersen by the Mullin Family Foundation – a fitting destination, given that Peter Mullin served on the Petersen’s board and was a driving force behind the museum’s redesign a decade ago.
The Petersen will officially unveil the collection on July 18 in the new Mullin Family Gallery, housed inside the museum’s Vault. The opening display features some of the collection’s most famous cars, ahead of a fuller exhibition of more than 30 vehicles planned for 2028.
Headlining the debut are the 1937 Delahaye Type 145 ‘Million Franc Delahaye’, the 1935 Voisin C25 Aérodyne, the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS ‘Teardrop Coupé’ and the Delahaye T-165 V12 that starred at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. They are joined by several Bugattis, including a Type 50S Million-Guiet and a Type 57SC Atalante.
‘Peter believed these automobiles belonged to history, not us,’ said Merle Mullin. ‘Together, we built this collection with the dream of preserving the extraordinary artistry, innovation and craftsmanship of French Art Deco automobiles.’
For more info, see petersen.org
