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Traveling Exhibition
American Art Deco: Designing for the People
he exhibition American Art Deco:
Designing for the People investigates a
Tdynamic period in American history
and culture when the country and its citizens
went through political, economic, social, and
artistic transformation and revolution. From
stylish decorative art objects to products of
industrial design, modern American paintings
to compelling photographic images, the multi-
media works of art in this exhibition reflect
both the glamour and optimism of the 1920s
and the devastation and escapism of the 1930s.
This exhibition offers an overview of an
international style that manifested stateside in
decorative arts, fine arts, architecture, and
design during the 1920s and 1930s. Featuring
approximately 140 objects, American Art Deco
explores the movement between 1918 and
1939 and highlights not only the glamour and
optimism of the 1920s, but also the impact of Moderne (No. 297) 6” Comport, 1936
the Great Depression in the 1930s. An array of
works, from a stunning 1925 René Lalique
glass vase to a 1930 Ford Model A, will
immerse guests in this period of much social,
political, and cultural change.
The major lender to this traveling exhibi-
tion is Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative
Art in Denver, Colorado. Key loans from
Kirkland Museum join loans from Fisk
University Galleries and John Hope and
Aurelia E. Franklin Library at Fisk University
in Nashville, Tennessee; Kansas City Museum
in Missouri; Sheldon Museum of Art,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and several
private collections along with objects from the
collections of the Nelson-Atkins and Joslyn for
this special exhibition.
This touring exhibition is scheduled to run
through February of 2023 at a few museums
after starting its tour at the Frist Art Museum
in October of 2021.
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for arts décoratifs, took its
name from the Exposition Internationale des
Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held
in Paris in 1925. The international exposition
celebrated a new style characterized by geomet-
ric ornament, symmetry, stylization, and angu-
larity, which developed globally with different
variants. In the United States, it combined
modern style with an embrace of materials used
in industry and new technologies, influencing
the design of everything from skyscrapers and
automobiles to clothing and radios.
For many, the words Art Deco conjure
images of soaring skyscrapers, sleek automo-
biles, and luxurious household items.
Geometric forms and streamlined ornamen-
tation characterize this international style,
which emerged in France after World War I
and quickly manifested stateside in a broad
array of decorative and fine arts. This exhibi-
tion examines how Art Deco was adapted
during a pivotal moment in American history,
encouraging us to consider the optimism and
glamour of the Roaring Twenties, along with
the environmental and economic devastation
of the 1930s.
The period between the world wars was a
time of great social, political, and cultural
change in America. Hundreds of thousands of
African American families left the South for
economic opportunities and hopes of racial
equity; most women won the right to vote; and
innovations in materials and production made
new artistic designs widely available, thereby
designed by Frank L. Ferrell (Am., 1878-1961) allowing more people to furnish their homes
for the Roseville Pottery Company with the latest goods. At the same time, African
photo: Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art Americans, Indigenous people, women, and
immigrants faced discrimination.
One hundred years later, the changes and
challenges of the interwar years can shed light
on our contemporary world. There were great
disparities in wealth and opportunity, as well as
well as systemic oppression at the intersections
of race, ethnicity, gender, and class. People were
learning how to navigate life again after a
devastating pandemic. Also, like today, many
Americans hoped for a more equitable future
when all would flourish and their voices would
be heard – a hope expressed in many of the
works on view.
From Paris to America
The ambitious 1925 Exposition
Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Indus-
triels Modernes (International Exposition of
Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) was a
Vase, ca. 1920-25 by Rene Lalique
photo: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
Principally inspired by nature, René Lalique
frequently incorporated plants and animals into his
glassware. This molded, nearly opaque glass vase has
four sections of identical design. In each, a back-
ground of flowers and fruit-bearing trees, possibly
including a pineapple, is framed by alligators inside
vertical curves.
Throughout the 1920s, Lalique pioneered industrial
techniques that allowed for the production and
distribution of glass ornamental objects to a broader
range of consumers. This vase was created using a
positive wax model with a hollow interior. After
blowing or casting hot glass into the model, the wax
was chipped away, resulting in a unique object.
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