New materials arrived, including chrome plating, stainless steel and plastic. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Art Deco became more subdued. The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and other skyscrapers of New York City built during the 1920s and 1930s are monuments to the style. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship.

During its heyday, it represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.įrom its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism and the Vienna Secession the bright colours of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe I and Louis XVI and the exoticized styles of China, Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art. Īrt Deco combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. It influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, cinemas, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. Top to bottom: Chrysler Building in New York City (1930) poster for the Chicago World's Fair by Weimer Pursell (1933) and hood ornament Victoire by René Lalique (1928)Īrt Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I.

Fireplace screens with doors