Phantom at 100: Celebrating a Century of Silent Impact on the Art World

Rolls-Royce Marks 100 Years of Phantom as an Icon of Artistic Expression

Rolls-Royce is celebrating a century of the Phantom’s influence in the art world, marking 100 years since the luxury vehicle first captured the imagination of some of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists. Since its debut, the Phantom has evolved into more than just a motor car—it has become a canvas, a muse, and an artwork in its own right.

“Phantom has often featured in incidents of creative significance—many of them defining moments of the last decade,” said Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “As we mark Phantom’s centenary, it is the perfect time to reflect on this motor car’s endlessly intriguing legacy and the artistic personalities who played a role in shaping its story.”

From its earliest days, Rolls-Royce has drawn the attention of cultural icons. Artists including Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso were associated with the marque. Dame Laura Knight famously used a Rolls-Royce as a mobile studio, while notable collectors such as Peggy Guggenheim and Nelson Rockefeller were drawn to the car’s elegance.

Yet it is the Phantom—now entering its ninth generation—that has had the most enduring relationship with the art world. Throughout its history, Phantom has appeared in major galleries, from London’s Saatchi Gallery to New York’s Smithsonian Design Museum, often showcased as a sculptural object of beauty and design.

One of the most surreal moments in Phantom’s artistic journey came courtesy of Salvador Dalí. In 1955, the Spanish surrealist filled a borrowed Phantom with half a tonne of cauliflowers and arrived at Paris-Sorbonne University to deliver a lecture, flinging open the doors and spilling vegetables onto the pavement. Rolls-Royce has commissioned a new artwork to commemorate this legendary performance.

Dalí also featured the Phantom in his illustrations for Les Chants de Maldoror, depicting the vehicle marooned in a frozen landscape—an image that merged elegance with desolation in true surrealist fashion.

The Phantom’s cultural significance continued with Andy Warhol, who purchased a 1937 model converted into a shooting brake. Warhol, often seen as Dalí’s creative successor, owned the car throughout the 1970s and used it during his peak years in New York. Rolls-Royce is honouring Warhol’s legacy with a new artistic reinterpretation of the Phantom in Pop Art style.

But the Phantom’s artistic story began long before these 20th-century giants. In 1911, sculptor Charles Sykes created the Spirit of Ecstasy, Rolls-Royce’s defining bonnet mascot. Originally commissioned by the brand’s early leadership and inspired by classical sculpture, the figure captured the grace and motion of the vehicle.

Sykes personally oversaw its production for decades, with his daughter Jo continuing the tradition before Rolls-Royce brought the process in-house in 1948. Today, original Sykes works remain highly regarded and are held in major museum collections.

As Rolls-Royce Phantom enters its second century, its role as a symbol of self-expression and artistic collaboration remains as potent as ever. From surrealist interventions to gallery installations, the car continues to inspire and be shaped by the visionaries who see it not just as a vehicle—but as art.