Art Deco

Art Deco was an international decorative style than ran from 1919 to 1939. Known initially as "le style moderne" or "Jazz Moderne," the style received its current name in 1968, during a period of scholarly reappraisal.

Art Deco developed first in France, and attracted international notice through a government-sponsored exposition held in 1925. The exciting array of works on display included a wide range of avant-garde, luxurious, and lighthearted artistic modes.

After 1925, designs increasingly reflected the rapid artistic and technological innovations of the period between two world wars, incorporating chic elegance, eclectic historical and national imagery, and Machine Age forms into an effervescent decorative vision.The Art Deco design movement touched every creative medium from roughly 1910 to 1940, and prints and posters of the age were no exception. Ultimately about pleasure and modernity, the style widely reflected themes of fast-paced city life and featured bold geometric forms.