American Art Deco

Art Deco was the most important decorative style of the late 1920s and 30s, and its expression in America was seen in architecture, sculpture, furniture, textiles, ceramics, silver, graphic arts, jewelry—in virtually every area of the fine and decorative arts. This splendid book explores the indigenous tradition of Art Deco in America and, in over 500 illustrations, reveals the beauty and extent of the style as it was manifested in the United States.

Art Deco, which in its pure form reached its climax at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, had an impact on art and design that was felt throughout the Western world. When similar exhibitions appeared in American museums and department stores, American designers were quick to take hold of the new style and make it their own, and it became enormously popular.

Most of the important buildings of the era, in all parts of the country, were embellished with strong Art Deco themes. William van Alen, Ely Jacques Kahn, and Joseph Urban, among others, created some of the most memorable architecture of the century: the Chrysler Building and Radio City Music Hall in New York; the Union Trust Building in Detroit, the Richfield Oil Building and the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Furniture, whether in homes, offices, restaurants, or nightclubs, was revolutionized by Art Deco's modernist stylizations (including the uniquely American skyscraper motif), and American designers from Paul Theodore Frankl to Donald Deskey to Russel Wright to Walter von Nessen created sofas, screens, and dressing tables in the Art Deco spirit. On radios, book covers, fabrics, automobiles-the influence of Art Deco abounded.

This beautifully produced volume displays and discusses American Art Deco in all its variations. Brilliant illustrations, including 233 plates in superb color, make the period between the world wars come to life in objects ranging from cocktail shakers to the Trylon and Perisphere of the 1939 World's Fair. Alastair Duncan, an internationally acknowledged authority on Art Deco and Art Nouveau, and the author of ten books on the subject, brings the style into focus in a detailed and entertaining text. This is truly the definitive volume on the American interpretation of one of the most successful design styles of the century.

502 illustrations, including 233 plates in full color