Art Deco
(1925 - 1940)

"Art Deco's ultimate aim was to end the old conflict between art and industry, the old snobbish distinction between artist and artisan, partly by making artists adept at crafts, but still more by adapting design to the requirements of mass-production."
_{- Bevis Hillier}

History of Art Deco

Art Deco was originally called the Modernistic style, or Style Moderne (http://www.allaboutdeco.com/). However, by the 1970s the term Art Deco was widely used; it was coined at the great Paris art exhibition of 1925 - the L' Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes (Hillier 11). Also, Art Deco is sometimes called depression moderne because many Art Deco buildings were built during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Art Deco began as a "smart" urban style in the United States, the latest fashion among a small contingent of upper-middle class sophisticates in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and other major cities throughout the US (Gebhard 8).

Characteristics of Art Deco

Art deco architecture, painting, etc. is recognizable because of three main things: distinct geometric shapes, intense, bright colors that stand out, and a decorative look. "Art Deco is characterized by a linear, hard edge or angular composition, often with a vertical emphasis, and highlighted with stylized decoration" (Blumenson 77). Also, Art Deco, while being decorative, is very simple, in that it doesn't have any complicated shapes. The Art Deco movement is also characterized by clean lines, streamlining, and symmetry (encarta.msn.com). In addition, Art Deco works exhibit abstraction, distortion, and simplification, particularly geometric shapes and highly intense colors (http://www.artlex.com/).

Influences on Art Deco

The Art Deco style was influenced by a number of other art movements. Some art movements that had a major influence on Art Deco were:

Cubism - the reduction of natural forms to their geometrical equivalents
Expressionism - forms derived from nature are distorted or exaggerated and colors are intensified for emotive or expressive purposes
Futurism - forms derived chiefly from Cubism were used to represent rapid movements and dynamic motion; showing hostility to traditional forms of expression
Vorticism - using the concept of a vortex

Some other influences on Art Deco were the Russian Ballet, American Indian art, and ancient Egyptian art (Hillier 26-40).

Art Deco in Chicago Architecture

Chicago is one of the most Art Deco-influenced cities in the world. There are numerous examples of Art Deco architecture throughout the Chicago and the Chicagoland area. Some of the more notable buildings are:

The Chicago Board of Trade - 1930 by Holabird and Root (allaboutdeco.com)
LaSalle National Bank Building - 1934 by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White(allaboutdeco.com)
Adler Planetarium - 1929-1931 by Rapp & Rapp (Gebhard 103)
The Robie House - 1906-1909 by Frank Lloyd Wright(allaboutdeco.com)

Other Buildings with Art Deco Influences

Throughout the United States there are many buildings whose style was influenced by Art Deco. Some of the more recognizable of these are:

Chrysler Building, New York: Manhattan - 1930 by William Van Alen (Gebhard 43)
Empire State Building, New York: Manhattan - 1930-1931 by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon (Gebhard 44)
The Guggemheim Museum, New York: Manhattan - 1942-1959 by Frank Llloyd Wright (Gebhard 46)
Rockefeller Center, New York: Manhattan - 1931-1940 by Reinhard & Hofmeister; Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray; Hood & Foulihoux (Gebhard 49)
Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kitty Hawk, NC - 1930-1932 by Rogers & Poor (Gebhard 96)
Johnson Wax Company Administrative Building, Racine, Wis. - 1936 by Frank Lloyd Wright (Gebhard 162)
Hollywood Bowl, LA - 1939-1940 by Allied Architects (Gebhard 213)

Notable Art Deco Paintings

Some notable Art Deco painitngs are:

Lesbians by Barbier, 1923
Woman with Book by Csaky
Le Gallant Vielland by Brissaud, 1927 (Hillier 144)

Great Art Deco Architects and Painters

Many great architects and painters greatly influenced and helped develop the Art Deco style to what we know it as today. Some of these great architects and painters are:

Paul Cezanne, painter (1839-1906)
Paul Klee, painter (1879-1940)
Pablo Picasso, painter (1881-1973)
Norman Bel Geddes, American Industrial designer (1893-1958)
Raymond Loewy, architect (1893-1986)
Frank Lloyd Wright, architect, designer, sculptor (1867-1959)(allaboutdeco.com)

Bibliography

Blumenson, John J. G. Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600 - 1945. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1977. (A book that gives a brief description of the Art Deco style in architecture, with pictures showing specific details of Art Deco in architecture.)
Delahunt, Michael."Art Deco." Artlex Arts Dictionary.2000. 8 Sept. 2000. http://www.artlex.com. (An excellent site giving a brief description of Art Deco and many examples of Art Deco paintings, architecture, and sculpture.)
Gebhard, David. The National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Ic., 1996. (A book that gives a ton of information about Art Deco in buildings, categorizing them region by region, and then city by city.)
Hewitt, Mark A."Art Deco." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000. 2000. 8 Sept. 2000. http://encarta.msn.com. (A good site giving general information on Art Deco, Art Deco in decorative arts, Art Deco in architecture, and Art Deco in the mainstream of U. S. art.)
Hillier, Bevis. Art Deco. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. (An informative book with information on the Art Deco period, influences on Art Deco, and how Art Deco developed through the 1920s and 1930s.)
Hillier, Bevis. The World of Art Deco. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc., 1971. (A great book giving examples of Art Deco in all mediums and art and architecture.)
McGuinness, Beryl."All About Deco.Com." All About Deco.Com. No publication or update given. 8 Sept.2000. http://www.allaboutdeco.com. (An excellent site giving information on the history of Art Deco, terms of Art Deco, artists of Art Deco, Art Deco jewelry, how other art movements influenced Art Deco, a timeline, and buildings in Chicago which exhibit Art Deco design.)

This website was designed by A.C. for History & Thought of Western Man, Rich East High School.

Return to Index.

Art Deco (1925 - 1940)

"Art Deco's ultimate aim was to end the old conflict between art and industry, the old snobbish distinction between artist and artisan, partly by making artists adept at crafts, but still more by adapting design to the requirements of mass-production."

- Bevis Hillier