GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Giving objects, even stationary ones, streamlined shapes was seen as a sign of progress and dynamism in the Depression years of the 1930s. Thanks to the emerging profession of industrial design and the need to enhance slumping sales figures, streamlined silhouettes were given to everything from buildings to buses and from cocktail shakers to vacuum cleaners. Furthermore, the modernity of these products was often enhanced through the use of new materials, including plywood, plastic, chromed steel, and aluminum. The end result was fashionable yet relatively inexpensive products that could be consumed on a mass scale and were not restricted to the wealthy upper class.
Walter Dorwin Teague, who designed this camera and box, was one of the United States most important industrial designers. Although he was already well established by the 1920s, Teague underwent a design catharsis in 1926. That year he went to Europe where he studied Le Corbusier's work and, from that time on, devoted himself exclusively to the new field of industrial design. The design of the camera and box reflects the European influences Teague found so stimulating. The geometric decoration relates closely to early 20th-century work by artists like Mondrian.
Drawn from
- DMA unpublished material.
- Charles Venable, DMA unpublished material, 2001.
NOTES
TMS Updates
I updated Geo Xrefs - place of origin
I updated title in TMS by removing the quotations around Gift and replacing the word 'with' for 'and'
updated Provenance
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Teague_Walter Dorwin: ULAN: 500020760
Eastman Kodak Company: ULAN: 500334798
Cultures
Geography
Rochester (New York): TGN: 7014348
Process/materials
Historical periods
Streamlined Moderne: 300212738
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
About 1936: Eastman Kodak Company (manufacturer), Rochester, New York
Until 1994: David T. Owsley (collector), New York, New York
From 1994: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley (collector) via the Alconda-Owsley Foundation on 4/2/1994 [1]
[1] According to the following documents found in the DMA object file: DMA Committee on Collections agenda (dated January 10, 1994), DMA Object receipt (dated January 14, 1994), Letter on David T. Owsley letterhead (dated January 18, 1994) addressed to Charles Venable (former chief curator of the DMA Decorative Arts and Design) from David T. Owsley, note on DMA letterhead (dated March 24, 1994) addressed to David T. Owsley from Charles Venable (former chief curator of the DMA Decorative Arts and Design), David T. Owsley's Deed of Gift (dated April 2, 1994), DMA Committee on Collections acquisition record (dated March 16, 1994)
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
PBS American Experience~Read more about Industrial Designers and Streamliners
Walter Dorwin Teague~Read more about American industrial designer, Walter Dorwin Teague
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where id equals 5268865
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General Description
Giving objects, even stationary ones, streamlined shapes was seen as a sign of progress and dynamism in the Depression years of the 1930s. Thanks to the emerging profession of industrial design and the need to enhance slumping sales figures, streamlined silhouettes were given to everything from buildings to buses and from cocktail shakers to vacuum cleaners. Furthermore, the modernity of these products was often enhanced through the use of new materials, including plywood, plastic, chromed steel, and aluminum. The end result was fashionable yet relatively inexpensive products that could be consumed on a mass scale and were not restricted to the wealthy upper class.
Walter Dorwin Teague, who designed this camera and box, was one of the United States most important industrial designers. Although he was already well established by the 1920s, Teague underwent a design catharsis in 1926. That year he went to Europe where he studied Le Corbusier's work and, from that time on, devoted himself exclusively to the new field of industrial design. The design of the camera and box reflects the European influences Teague found so stimulating. The geometric decoration relates closely to early 20th-century work by artists like Mondrian.
Drawn from
- DMA unpublished material.
- Charles Venable, DMA unpublished material, 2001.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
PBS American Experience~Read more about Industrial Designers and Streamliners
Walter Dorwin Teague~Read more about American industrial designer, Walter Dorwin Teague
Notes
TMS Updates
I updated Geo Xrefs - place of origin
I updated title in TMS by removing the quotations around Gift and replacing the word 'with' for 'and'
updated Provenance
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Teague_Walter Dorwin: ULAN: 500020760
Eastman Kodak Company: ULAN: 500334798
Cultures
Geography
Rochester (New York): TGN: 7014348
Process/materials
Historical periods
Streamlined Moderne: 300212738
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
About 1936: Eastman Kodak Company (manufacturer), Rochester, New York
Until 1994: David T. Owsley (collector), New York, New York
From 1994: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley (collector) via the Alconda-Owsley Foundation on 4/2/1994 [1]
[1] According to the following documents found in the DMA object file: DMA Committee on Collections agenda (dated January 10, 1994), DMA Object receipt (dated January 14, 1994), Letter on David T. Owsley letterhead (dated January 18, 1994) addressed to Charles Venable (former chief curator of the DMA Decorative Arts and Design) from David T. Owsley, note on DMA letterhead (dated March 24, 1994) addressed to David T. Owsley from Charles Venable (former chief curator of the DMA Decorative Arts and Design), David T. Owsley's Deed of Gift (dated April 2, 1994), DMA Committee on Collections acquisition record (dated March 16, 1994)
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5268865
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