PHOENIX, AZ.- Phoenix Art Museum is presenting Modern Treads: The Discount Tire Poster Collection, an exhibition that explores the visual culture of the automobile through 15 oversized posters celebrating industrial innovation, advertising, and the promise of modern mobility.

Now on view through January 3, 2027, the exhibition features works dating from 1900 to 1930, a period when companies such as Michelin, Dunlop, Continental, Pirelli, and Goodyear turned to bold poster design to promote the automobile not only as a form of transportation, but as a symbol of freedom, aspiration, speed, and modern life.

The exhibition also includes automotive fashions from the PhxArt Fashion Collection, offering visitors a broader look at how the rise of the automobile shaped daily life, style, and self-presentation at the turn of the 20th century.



“Throughout history, artistic expression, design, and industrial innovation have evolved side by side,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “In this exhibition, visitors will experience how dynamic art forms like lithography captured the excitement and transformative impact of the automobile. This presentation also reflects the Museum’s own longstanding connection to car culture through the Men’s Arts Council Copperstate 1000, one of North America’s premier vintage car road rallies for more than three decades. We are deeply grateful to Discount Tire for sharing these remarkable works with Arizona audiences, and we invite visitors of all ages to explore this compelling story in our galleries, just in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Route 66.”

The Discount Tire Collection was created in 1982 by Bruce T. Halle, founder and chairman of Discount Tire, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The collection includes more than 500 color lithographs and vintage advertising posters dating from the late 1880s to the mid-1980s, capturing the creativity, humor, and technological advances that shaped tire manufacturing and automotive advertising.





Modern Treads marks the first Phoenix Art Museum exhibition in more than two decades to present major works from the Collection of Discount Tire. Organized across four thematic sections, the exhibition examines the role artists played in shaping the imagery and ideals of a rapidly modernizing world.

The section Art in Motion highlights the unexpected relationship between rubber manufacturing and modern art, showing how tire companies commissioned artists working in styles ranging from classical antiquity to Art Nouveau. The Golden Radius focuses on the symbolic power of the tire as a gateway to freedom and exploration in a culture increasingly defined by speed and mobility. Wheels of Change considers innovation in pneumatic design and the transformation of rubber into a global commodity essential to modern life. Industry and Reform addresses the human and environmental consequences of the automobile, as well as the industry’s shift toward more sustainable production methods.

The exhibition also places period automotive fashions from the PhxArt Fashion Collection in dialogue with the posters. These ensembles offer a glimpse into the accessories people wore at the turn of the 20th century to protect themselves from wind, dust, mud, and rough road conditions.

“Bright, bold, and full of character, these posters invite visitors of all ages to step back in time to the dawn of the 20th century, a time of rapid growth and innovation,” said Rachel Zebro, the Museum’s Associate Curator of Collections, who co-curated the exhibition. “Created in collaboration with Discount Tire, the exhibition celebrates the vivid imagination and skillset of artists who explore the intersection of art, technology, and mass communication. Featuring a variety of posters with strong visual graphics and modern forms, Modern Treads offers a rare opportunity for PhxArt to highlight a lesser-known side of art history, where advances in printmaking meet the marketplace.”

Susan Driver, Curator of the Collection of Discount Tire, who co-curated the exhibition with Zebro, said the show is especially meaningful as Route 66 reaches its milestone anniversary.

“We are delighted to share a piece of this remarkable collection in conjunction with the milestone anniversary of Route 66, a highway that came to symbolize mobility, innovation, and freedom in 20th-century America,” Driver said. “These artworks depict first-hand a transformation of daily life that made long-distance travel possible — not only across the United States but around the world.”

Sentari Minor, Board Chair of The Men’s Arts Council, the exhibition’s presenting sponsor, said the exhibition connects closely with the organization’s longstanding support of car culture through Phoenix Art Museum.

“Modern Treads offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience the intersection of art, innovation, fashion, and mobility during a transformative moment in modern history,” Minor said. “We are proud to support an exhibition that highlights the creativity and cultural impact of early automotive design and advertising. This year’s Copperstate 1000 celebrated the 100th anniversary of Route 66, so this exhibition is something near and dear to our hearts.”