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Definition: Art deco from Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable

A decorative style in painting, glass, pottery, silverware, furniture, architecture and the like, at its height in the 1930s. It is distinguished by bold colours, geometrical shapes, stylized natural forms and symmetrical designs. The name comes from French art décoratif, 'decorative art', itself from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes held in Paris in 1925 as the first major international exhibition of decorative art since the First World War.

art deco

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Style in the decorative arts that influenced design and architecture, and is particularly associated with mass-produced domestic goods. It emerged in Europe in the 1920s and continued through the 1930s, achieving greatest popularity in the USA and France. Art deco pulls together aspects of abstraction and cubism to create a deliberately modern style, which was originally called ‘Jazz Modern’. Its features include angular, geometrical patterns and bright colours, and the use of materials such as enamel, chrome, glass, and plastic. The graphic designer Erté became fashionable for his art deco work. Art deco pieces serve to embody the productivity and efficiency of the machine age, when mass-production popularized designs and made them accessible to many, in particular the growing middle-classes. During the art deco period product designers became involved in the process of production for the first time, as manufacturers sought to tempt customers with goods that looked up-to-date and…
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The Art Deco style of the 1920s and 1930s, which derived its name from the 1925 Paris Exhibition - the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes - was the first truly modern style of the 20th century. In their subject-matter, style, and bright colours, Art Deco furniture, jewellery, …
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Full text Article Art Deco

From The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers
Luxurious, international style of decoration that flourished c. 1918–39 in fashion, interiors, architecture, ceramics and industrial design. Named after the 1925 World's Fair in Paris ('Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes'). Utilized bright, vibrant colours along…
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Full text Article Art Deco

From Miller's Antiques Encyclopedia Full text Article Content
Derived from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925, the term Art Deco encompasses the distinctive decorative styles that emerged prior to World War I as Art Nouveau waned in popularity. Up until the late 1930s Art Deco furniture- and…
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Full text Article art deco

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(ärt dĕkō'; är dākō', ärt) or art moderne (är môdĕrn', ärt), term that designates a style of design that originated in French luxury goods shortly before World War I and became ubiquitously and internationally popular during the 1920s and 30s. Coined in the 1960s, the name derives from the 1925…
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Full text Article Art Deco

From The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900
Was not a movement, but rather a tendency in design. It emanated from France in the 1920s but appeared in increasingly hybrid forms in Britain and the USA in the 1930s. It took its name from the PARIS EXPOSITION DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS ET INDUSTRIELS , 1925, where the style was represented at its most…
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Full text Article art deco

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Style in the decorative arts that influenced design and architecture, and is particularly associated with mass-produced domestic goods. It emerged in Europe in the 1920s and continued through the 1930s, achieving greatest popularity in the USA and France. Art deco pulls together aspects of…
| 297 words
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Full text Article Art Deco

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Movement in design, interior decoration, and architecture in the 1920s and ’30s in Europe and the U.S. The name derives from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925. Its products included both individually crafted luxury items and mass-produced…
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Full text Article Art Deco Weekend

From Cultural Studies: Holidays Around the World
The Miami Design Preservation League was established in 1976 with the purpose of restoring and maintaining the Art Deco buildings of the South Beach area in Miami, Florida. In 1978, Art Deco Weekend began. Each year over 400,000 people gather in January for the festivities. Art Deco Weekend…
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Rudolph Valentino
The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes was held in Paris from April to October of 1925. The momentous exhibition featured innovative displays including Le Corbusier's Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau and a crystal fountain by Lalique. The commonly used term “art deco” …
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Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai
India Criteria- Interchange of values; Significance in human history Having become a global trading centre, the city of Mumbai implemented an ambitious urban planning project in the second half of the 19th century. It led to the construction of ensembles of public buildings bordering the Oval Maidan…
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