The "International Style"
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Modernist designers in the United States and central and northern Europe created an international language of form in the 1920s and 1930s that was widely emulated around the world in the decades that followed.
French Art Deco
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
During the first quarter of the 20th century, French designers, manufacturers, and merchants became increasingly worried about their country’s position as a leader in the field of design. To bolster France’s reputation, a trade fair was held in Paris in 1925.
Texas Art—The Landscape
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The 19th century in American art is the great epoch of landscape, a tradition that stretched across the decades, much as the country itself steadily grew in size. While their artistic styles differed over time, American artists remained continually preoccupied with the impulse to explore and represent the world around them.
20th Century design: The Last Thirty Years
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The last thirty years of the 20th century saw the world grow increasingly interrelated due to political and technological change. The Cold War first began to thaw during the 1970s. In the next decade, tension between the Communist and capitalist powers receded further and climaxed in 1989 with the demolition of the Berlin Wall. Within a year, Germany was reunified, Europe's Communist regimes were overthrown, and the U.S.S.R.
20th Century Design: The 1960s
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The 1960s were years of both political and cultural instability. In architecture and design, the decade was dominated by two themes--outer space and rebellion against authority. The space race began with the U.S.S.R.'s launch of its Sputnik satellite in 1957, continued with the orbit of the first manned spacecraft (U.S.S.R., 1961), and ultimately landed men on the moon (U.S., 1969).
20th Century Design: The 1950s
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Dominated by conservative politics, social conformity, atomic anxiety, and a soaring birth rate, the 1950s also brought prosperity to many industrialized countries, especially the U.S. Once again, people had money to spend on entertainment and consumer products. Aided by growing mobility due to widespread car ownership, Americans created the "casual" lifestyle.
20th Century Design: The 1940s
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
During the 1940s, World War II devastated the lives of countless people; however, the war effort produced many important technological advances. Foremost were the development of the first nuclear reactor (1941) and the construction of the electromechanical computer (1943). Many artists and designers of the 1940s and 1950s were inspired by the freedom and power suggested by such scientific advances.
20th-Century Design: The 1930s
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The 1930s were dominated by the economic chaos of the Great Depression and political events leading up to World War II. Before the world was engulfed in war, however, this decade was a time of great innovation and apparent progress despite its economic problems. World trade fairs, such as those held in the United States in 1933 (Chicago), 1936 (Dallas), and 1939 (New York), showcased numerous new inventions and redesigned products.
20th-Century Design: The 1920s
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The 1920s were generally a time of great prosperity for most of Europe and the United States. Until the stock market crash in 1929 ushered in the Great Depression, many individuals were able to afford growing numbers of consumer products and spend more money on entertainment. For art and design, the 1920s were momentous indeed.
20th Century Design: 1910-1919
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Although World War I dominated the second decade of the 20th century, many other significant events occurred. Industrial and financial monopolies controlled much of America's wealth and political processes, but protest and reform was also in the air. The nation's romance with the automobile and the movies also began in this decade, and the art world experienced many important movements.