Bidding will be fast and furious

IF the Kustom Kulture art movement had patron saints, their names would be Jimmy and Danny Brucker. Known collectively as the Brucker Brothers, they spent more than 40 years amassing an unparalleled collection of Kustom Kulture art -- inspired by those who drove and built custom cars -- by commissioning, employing and even housing the likes of Von Dutch, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Robert Williams and Ed Newton.

On Saturday, much of the art, along with eight vintage cars and even a 1940 Messerschmitt fighter plane, will be up for auction at Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum, where it is on temporary display.

The collection, which includes 545 lots, is expected to bring $2.5 million to $3.5 million. Among the highlights are three canvas paintings by Williams and original drawings of monsters and Rat Fink from Roth’s studio that have been reproduced on T-shirts a million times over.

“This is the mother lode of [Kustom Kulture] art -- these were the guys who were at the zero point of the movement,” says Chris “Coop” Cooper, 37, a “lowbrow” artist best known for his rendering of voluptuous devil girls.

“Williams was one the first artists to take the diverse influences from pop culture and bring them into the fine-art context,” he adds.

For his part, Jimmy Brucker, 63, says he has mixed emotions about letting his collection go.

As much as the art means to him, he no longer wants the responsibility of caring for the collection, which for years has been stored in warehouses and in a Santa Paula airplane hangar he bought from actor Steve McQueen.

“I’m happy to see the art put on proper display at the Petersen -- I wish they could buy the entire collection and keep it up -- but it will also be gratifying to see people who are into this kind of art become a part of it.”

*

The Brucker Collection

Where: Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.

When: Viewing, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. Auction begins 10 a.m. Saturday.

Cost: Viewing free with museum admission of $10, adults, and $5, students. Auction: $60 for admission for two and catalog; $100 for admission for two, catalog and registration to bid.

Info: (800) 211-4371,www.rmauctions.com