Scenic View Ahead

Westways is the Automobile Club of Southern California's member magazine. Starting in 1928, Westways' cover art program included paintings from major Southern Californian artists, marking a shift in the magazine’s content from automobile topics to broader cultural and recreational activities. 

Curated by Auto Club historians Matthew W. Roth and Morgan P. Yates, “Scenic View Ahead: The Westways Cover Art Program, 1928- 1981” will exhibit 55 artworks that include styles such as California scene painting, pop art and assemblage art. 

Although after 1981 “Westways” switched to photography for its covers, today the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate archives house more than 250 paintings, collages and assemblages representing the diverse and vibrant art scene of early- and mid-20th century Southern California.

Artists include plein air artists Alson Clark, Maynard Dixon, John Frost and Donna Schuster; watercolorists Rex Brandt, Phil Dike and Maurice Logan; graphic artists Jan Sawka and Merle Shore; and illustrator Paul Hogarth.

Whether you go or not, the exhibition catalog Scenic View Ahead: The Westways Cover Art Program, 1928-1981 examines the program that ran from 1928 'til 1981, to commission cover art from California artists.