Art of auto racing comes to Wichita

An art museum isn’t the first place that springs to mind when the subject of classic auto racing comes up. But the Wichita Art Museum has mounted an exhibit of some of the best racing photographs taken over three decades on some of the most famous race courses in Europe.

It’s titled “The Golden Age of Motorsport” and consists of more than 70 photos captured by Jesse Alexander between the early 1950s and the 1970s. They are on display through Oct. 2 in the Paul Ross Gallery and the Scott and Carol Ritchie Gallery. And for those who remember names like Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren, Mario Andretti and Juan Manuel Fangio, these images recall the glory days of racing.

This was the stuff of grimy-faced drivers with goggles hanging around their necks in the cockpits of oil-streaked, featherweight cars that dueled it out on courses like LeMans, Monaco and Nurburgring. There are great action photos, driver portraits and crowd shots in the collection.

Jesse Alexander launched his career as a racing photographer attending his first Grand Prix in 1954 and went on to serve as the European correspondent for “Car and Driver” in the 1960s. This is the first exhibit of his work in the Midwest and is well worth an afternoon’s browsing at the Wichita Art Museum.

Sunflower Swap – With controversy and confusion following the announcement that the Kansas Pavilions will no longer be hosting car events, there is at least one bit of good news to pass on.

John Saindon, owner/operator of the Kansas Sunflower Swap Meet for Charity, said he has been assured that next year’s swap meet scheduled for Feb. 3-4, 2017, will go on as planned at the Pavilions.

“We still are very optimistic about the future … we have learned how important this event is to everyone. The goal is to go another 40 years (and) let our charity benefit from it. We want to tell everyone thanks for the ongoing support,” Saindon said.

This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Art of auto racing comes to Wichita."