{"id":2388,"date":"2026-07-20T22:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T22:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/?p=2388"},"modified":"2026-07-20T22:57:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T22:57:51","slug":"five-driven-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-museums\/five-driven-women\/","title":{"rendered":"FIVE DRIVEN WOMEN"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While at the Studebaker National Museum<\/a> for an automotive history conference earlier this month, I had a chance to take a peek at a new special exhibit. Although the space of Five Driven Women<\/a> is dominated by five magnificent automobiles, the stories of the women who owned and operated them are what, in fact, drives this groundbreaking exhibit. The five featured women originate from a variety of circumstances and called upon the automobile for a myriad of reasons. However, despite differences in wealth, status, opportunity, and fame, each understood the importance of automobility to personal goals, practice, and identity. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Eleanora Sears<\/a>, represented by a 1912 Simplex Torpedo, was well known for her accomplishments in tennis and equestrian sports. She and her Simplex, gifted to her by none other than Harold S. Vanderbilt, participated in the first national meet of the Vintage Motor Car Club of America, which brought together collectors from all over the country.  Louise Arner Boyd<\/a> \u2013 the first woman to lead an expedition to an Arctic archipelago – selected the 1934 Packard Twelve 1108 Custom Convertible Sedan due to its suitability for photography fieldwork. For three months, chauffeur Percy Cameron piloted Boyd and the Packard through Poland and neighboring countries; the resulting photographs \u2013 which included Hitler propaganda posters – were incorporated into Boyd\u2019s landmark 1937 publication, Polish Countrysides<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Schumacher 1928 Hudson Series O Town Car<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Aviator Amelia Earhart<\/a> was well known for her love of cars; auto manufacturers often capitalized on Earhart\u2019s fame to promote their automobiles. However, the 1937 Cord 812 Convertible Phaeton on display at the Studebaker was purchased by Earhart for her own use, no doubt due to its streamlined design and advanced engineering. Classic car enthusiast Margaret Dunning<\/a> learned to drive at 10 years of age; she maintained her love of cars and driving throughout 103 years of living. Dunning purchased the 1930 Packard 740 Roadster in 1959; she was not only its owner but also performed the routine maintenance herself. Dunning was a great champion of automotive history; the Sloan Museum of Discovery<\/a> in Flint, Michigan recognizes her many contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Margaret Dunning’s 1930 Packard 740 Roadster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The 1928 Murphy-bodied Hudson on display, attributed to socialite Maribel Schumacher, represents many of the difficulties recovering women\u2019s automotive history. Marriage, divorce, name changes, and the inability of women to purchase automobiles on their own often muddled the archival waters. In Schumacher\u2019s case, verified ownership is further complicated by a daughter who inherited her mother\u2019s first and last name; such inconsistencies in the archival record lead to the question of who, in fact, owned the 1928 Hudson.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Studebaker National Museum exhibit not only presents the cars and those who drove them but also provides insight into the challenges researching women\u2019s automotive legacies in the early twentieth century. It also touches on how wealth, or lack of it, complicated women\u2019s choices and options in automobile purchase and use. Accompanied by artifacts, news articles, and rarely viewed photographs, Five Driven Women communicates how, despite differences in background and opportunity, early female drivers sought automobility for the opportunity and independence it promised.<\/p>\n\n\n

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While at the Studebaker National Museum for an automotive history conference earlier this month, I had a chance to take a peek at a new special exhibit. Although the space of Five Driven Women is dominated by five magnificent automobiles, the stories of the women who owned and operated them are what, in fact, drives…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,44],"tags":[43,13],"class_list":["post-2388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-auto-museums","category-car-chicks","tag-automotive-history","tag-woman-driver"],"yoast_head":"\nFIVE DRIVEN WOMEN - Women & Cars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Review of "Five Driven Women", a special exhibit at the Studebaker National Museum\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-museums\/five-driven-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FIVE DRIVEN WOMEN - 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