Art Deco

Art Deco, short for the French Arts décoratifs (lit. 'Decorative Arts'), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first <a href="/facts/Art_Deco_in_Paris/FCylxnUw">appeared in Paris</a> in the 1910s just before <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a> and flourished in the United States, Mexico and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including clothing, fashion, and jewelry. Art Deco has influenced buildings from skyscrapers to cinemas, bridges, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects, including radios and vacuum cleaners.
The name Art Deco came into use after the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (<a href="/facts/International_Exhibition_of_Modern_Decorative_and_Industrial_Arts/MzNVQqeI">International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts</a>) held in Paris. It has its origin in the bold geometric forms of the <a href="/facts/Vienna_Secession/RAInBYIR">Vienna Secession</a> and <a href="/facts/Cubism/wmpXU7Tn">Cubism</a>. From the outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bright colors of <a href="/facts/Fauvism/HTGTXBLl">Fauvism</a> and the <a href="/facts/Ballets_Russes/FnYT3fLF">Ballets Russes</a>, and the exoticized styles of art from <a href="/facts/Chinese_art/oaaWD2YQ">China</a>, <a href="/facts/Japanese_art/DQB6uTfw">Japan</a>, <a href="/facts/Indian_art/fyf0XDmc">India</a>, <a href="/facts/Persian_art/BM6Foe9y">Persia</a>, <a href="/facts/Art_of_ancient_Egypt/Y9zGcIgc">ancient Egypt</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ancient_Maya_art/9LM9VCfc">Maya</a>. In its time, Art Deco was tagged with other names such as style moderne, Moderne, modernistic, or style contemporain, and it was not recognized as a distinct and homogeneous style.
During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. The movement featured rare and expensive materials such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship. It also introduced new materials such as <a href="/facts/Chrome_plating/gM9SIhsr">chrome plating</a>, <a href="/facts/Stainless_steel/IDdo8bEx">stainless steel</a>, and plastic. In New York, the <a href="/facts/Empire_State_Building/GgehSMmV">Empire State Building</a>, <a href="/facts/Chrysler_Building/AG45agPV">Chrysler Building</a>, and <a href="/facts/Art_Deco_architecture_of_New_York_City/I88axuW1">other buildings from the 1920s and 1930s</a> are monuments to the style. The largest concentration of art deco architecture in the world is in <a href="/facts/Miami_Beach%2c_Florida/QjUbXTID">Miami Beach, Florida</a>.
Art Deco became more subdued during the <a href="/facts/Great_Depression/5K13wcg0">Great Depression</a>. A sleeker form of the style appeared in the 1930s called <a href="/facts/Streamline_Moderne/LIGerbIy">Streamline Moderne</a>, featuring curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces. Art Deco was an international style but, after the outbreak of <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, it lost its dominance to the functional and unadorned styles of <a href="/facts/Modern_architecture/T3F1gFrv">modern architecture</a> and the <a href="/facts/International_Style/N8Wayswe">International Style</a>.

Art Deco open-in-new

Art Deco