Nethercutt Auto Museum - "The Preservation of Beauty"
Some folks get a good turn in life and take the advantage and run with it. Others choose to share their good fortune and for that, we are all, uh, fortunate. Take, for example, J.B. Nethercutt. The man took his aunt's cosmetics store in Santa Monica and turned it into a makeup empire. So how does society benefit from that? Through the Nethercutt museum in Sylmar, California.
Since they were first married, J.B. Nethercutt and his wife, Dorothy, admired the large, beautiful cars from companies like Packard, Duesenberg and others. In 1956, J.B. purchased two cars, a 1936 Duesenberg Convertible Roadster for $5,000.00 and a 1930 DuPont Town Car for $500.00, both needed total refurbishing. The DuPont restoration Mr. Nethercutt estimated would take a few weeks, but it took 18 months and over $65,000.00. The DuPont was shown at The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1958 where it won "Best of Show". Nethercutt later stated that the Concours opened his eyes to the world of car collecting. Since 1958, Mr. Nethercutt has won the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance six times, more than any other individual. The Duesenberg and the DuPont are still part of the Nethercutt Collection.
Once they got hooked on collecting, the ball started rolling from there. Recently a number of newly-restored automobiles were pulled out of the garage and given a place in the museum. Included in the roll out were a 1904 Came, a 1930 Case Fire Truck and a number of other beautifully-restored machines. Some might also recognize one of the few 1948 Tuckers from the movie of the same name.
J.B. Nethercutt's most memorable quote is: "The recognition and preservation of beauty has been a major focus of my life, it would suit me well if what people remembered about me was "Where he went he left beauty behind." -J.B. Nethercutt. Both J.B. Nethercutt and his wife Dorothy passed away within two months of each other in 2004. They spent 71 years together as husband and wife.
To ensure the future of the collection and museum, which as in the past are open free to the public, J. B. Nethercutt has established a perpetual endowment. Mr. Nethercutt commented recently "It is my intention that this collection will be available for the public, that it shall be preserved and perpetuated as far as the human mind can conceive."
