From its beginnings in the 1930s, New York’s Museum of Modern Art has always included good industrial design in its idea of what’s art, and both its collections and exhibitions reflect that.
But hanging a fully-functional helicopter in a special niche above the lobby and adjacent to galleries…that’s the most spectacular reach.
This one is a Bell 47D1, once one of the world’s most widely-used and recognized helicopters, with several thousand sold all over the world and used for nearly any purpose imaginable. It was designed by Arthur Young, also a poet and painter.
Probably its most unique feature is its most beautiful: the clear one-piece bubble that has no seams and made this model pretty much the archetype for what most of us see when we think “helicopter.”
Reminds me of the “Whirlybirds” TV Show that I watched in the late 1950’s that had a Bell 47 helicopter as the star of the show.