Art Deco

Art Deco was at its height in the 1920s and '30s as an art and design movement in both Europe and North America. As a style, Art Deco owed something to Art Nouveau, but Art Nouveau focused more on organic shapes and patterns whereas Art Deco is typified by its use of geometric and highly-stylised shapes. The movement takes its name from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, which was held in Paris in 1925 and which focused on fine workmanship and individuality in contrast to the more industrial style of the Bauhaus, which was contemporary. Initially, Art Deco design was very much focused on the top end of the market, utilising expensive materials like jade, lacquer and ivory, but the style became more generally available towards the end of the 1920s and early 1930s, and a second important exhibition was held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York in 1934. By then, perhaps partly as a result of the worldwide Depression, the Exhibition also emphasised the fact that Art Deco could apply to more commonplace materials as well. Eventually, the style was cut short by the hardships and austerities of World War II.