Although the term Art Deco had not yet been invented, the new style was already exploring societal shifts following WWI and the killer flu pandemic of 1918-9. Art Deco works were symmetrical, geometric, streamlined and often simple. In contrast to avant-garde art of the period, Art Deco challenged viewers to find beauty and meaning in what were often unapologetically anti-traditional images and forms. NB the geometric influences: triangular & trapezoidal shapes, zigzags, vibrant colours, straight lines, sunbursts, strong curves, low relief sculpture, stepped forms, chevrons, ziggurats, stylised and floral patterns.
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Chromium-base, enamelled metal and brush-burnished silver Sparton Bluebird Radio, 1928.
Note the minimal design and use of metals that were typically Art Deco.
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Now American Art Deco: Designing for the People 1918-1939 investigates this era when the world went through sharp economic, political, social as well as cultural change, particularly in the U.S. From stylish decorative art objects to industrial products, from compelling architecture to modern paintings, the range of works in this exhibition reflect the glamour and optimism of the Roaring Twenties. They abruptly end with the 1929 New York stock market crash. The negative ripple effects of the crash were compounded by devastating erosion, drought and unsustainable farming. Paintings like Grant Wood’s Stone City, Iowa (1930) reflected an idyllic rural life that appealed to isolationist.
With the despair of the 1930s Great Depression, citizens looked for support. Recovery efforts began in 1933 with Pres Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal Programme, which included financial reforms and regulations as well as public works projects like building infrastructure and art commissions. Art Deco was very popular.
`Many Americans had access to new designs, but there were also economic and social realities that prevented many from enjoying new fashions in household goods. So the exhibition examines the aspirations and challenges of 1920s-1930s, and watches how designing for the people meant eliminating expensive materials and preferring simplistic shaping.
Frist Museum in Nashville TN, was a perfect choice for the 2021–Jan 2022 exhibition. Built in 1933–34 and financed by the US Treasury Department's Office of Construction, Frist’s lobby has art deco–style coloured marble and stone geometric forms on the floor and walls. It also has cast-aluminium doors and grillwork featuring symbols of local industry. Architecture was one of the most common idioms in which the Art Deco style was utilised in the U.S. The Frist showed iconic structures like Chrysler Building New York, Delano Hotel Miami and Griffith Observatory Los Angeles.
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Chrysler Building NY, one of the most iconic Art Deco in the world
15 x 15 x 6”. Kirkland Museum Denver.
Art Deco took its name from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, in Paris. The Paris exhibition celebrated a new style characterised by geometric ornament, symmetry, stylisation and angularity, which was developing and changing globally. In the U.S, it combined modern style with materials used in new technologies, changing designs from architecture, cars, clothing and radios.
Modernique Clock, 1928.
Chromium-plated, enamelled metal, moulded Bakelite, silver, 8 x 6 x 4”.
Kirkland Museum Denver.
Now American Art Deco: Designing for the People 1918-1939 investigates this era when the world went through sharp economic, political, social as well as cultural change, particularly in the U.S. From stylish decorative art objects to industrial products, from compelling architecture to modern paintings, the range of works in this exhibition reflect the glamour and optimism of the Roaring Twenties. They abruptly end with the 1929 New York stock market crash. The negative ripple effects of the crash were compounded by devastating erosion, drought and unsustainable farming. Paintings like Grant Wood’s Stone City, Iowa (1930) reflected an idyllic rural life that appealed to isolationist.
With the despair of the 1930s Great Depression, citizens looked for support. Recovery efforts began in 1933 with Pres Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal Programme, which included financial reforms and regulations as well as public works projects like building infrastructure and art commissions. Art Deco was very popular.
`Many Americans had access to new designs, but there were also economic and social realities that prevented many from enjoying new fashions in household goods. So the exhibition examines the aspirations and challenges of 1920s-1930s, and watches how designing for the people meant eliminating expensive materials and preferring simplistic shaping.
Frist Museum in Nashville TN, was a perfect choice for the 2021–Jan 2022 exhibition. Built in 1933–34 and financed by the US Treasury Department's Office of Construction, Frist’s lobby has art deco–style coloured marble and stone geometric forms on the floor and walls. It also has cast-aluminium doors and grillwork featuring symbols of local industry. Architecture was one of the most common idioms in which the Art Deco style was utilised in the U.S. The Frist showed iconic structures like Chrysler Building New York, Delano Hotel Miami and Griffith Observatory Los Angeles.
1928–1930
Well presented within the Frist’s own Art Deco interior, during the museum’s 20th anniversary year, the exhibition examined an international style that appeared in the U.S: a 1930 Ford Model A; decorative objects arts: furniture, glassware, vases and jewellery. And 140 paintings.
Wichita Art Museum KS will then host the exhibition from Feb-May 2022, presenting 140+ iconic art works: decorative arts, paintings and sculptures that marked this historical moment in American experience. Wichita Art Museum has works from its collection to the exhibition, including Deco paintings. Many other works were borrowed, from a fine 1925 René Lalique glass vase to a 1930 Ford Model A. They will be displayed in vignettes, including jazz music, Hollywood film clips, and custom interactives. Thus it’s easy for visitors to feel they are back in the era of social, political and cultural change.
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Hupmobile Hood Ornament, 1936, chrome-plated metal, 6.25”. Yale Uni Art Gallery. Designed by Raymond Loewy with painted highlights and mounted on a custom built Art Deco base.
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Electrolux vacuum, 1937. Chrome-plated steel, aluminium, vinyl, rubber, 8 x 23 x 8”, Kirkland Museum Denver. It incorporated the chrome and aluminium metals from the era, plus sleek lines and minimal design.
Well presented within the Frist’s own Art Deco interior, during the museum’s 20th anniversary year, the exhibition examined an international style that appeared in the U.S: a 1930 Ford Model A; decorative objects arts: furniture, glassware, vases and jewellery. And 140 paintings.
Wichita Art Museum KS will then host the exhibition from Feb-May 2022, presenting 140+ iconic art works: decorative arts, paintings and sculptures that marked this historical moment in American experience. Wichita Art Museum has works from its collection to the exhibition, including Deco paintings. Many other works were borrowed, from a fine 1925 René Lalique glass vase to a 1930 Ford Model A. They will be displayed in vignettes, including jazz music, Hollywood film clips, and custom interactives. Thus it’s easy for visitors to feel they are back in the era of social, political and cultural change.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City Mo is the third of the travelling presentations, opening in July 2022 until Jan 2023; this museum also wants to examine the inter-war years when Americans embraced a freer, more open society. And enjoyed a more widespread confidence in the American dream. Technological advances and innovations in production and materials enabled buildings to increase in height and more people to travel, enjoy expanded leisure time, and furnish their homes with new objects. Yet in the same era, racial tensions and economic depression further disenfranchised many Americans.
Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art in Denver Co loaned objects to the exhibition, along with loans from Fisk University Galleries and Library in Nashville Tenn; Kansas City Museum Mo; Sheldon Museum of Art, Uni of Nebraska in Lincoln; Wichita Art Museum and objects from the Nelson-Atkins and Joslyn collections. Partially supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Dr Catherine Futter Senior Curator of Decorative Arts at Brooklyn Museum, curated the show.
All photo credits:Frist Museum