Interior Design Subject Guide

Open Education Resource digitised 1867 copy

1925 paris - the agenda for the Exposition internationale des arts decoratifs et industriels modernes was set: to show the world that French taste would once again lead the way in evolving a new international style. Just as French artists and craftsmen had set the standards for taste in the fine and decorative arts since the time of Louis XIV, so postwar Paris would show the world that France was willing and able to define the elements of the emerging style that would be known as Art Deco. But the French were not ready to pass the flame to America. France would – France must – retain her leadership in this vital area

Open Education Resource - Chippendales' 1754 original in digitised format

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To a great extent, Art Deco is epitomized by the works that were shown at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern and Industrial Decorative Arts), held in Paris in 1925. Indeed, the name of this vast exhibition would later be abbreviated to Art Deco, giving a catch-all label—perhaps somewhat imprecise—to the enormous range of decorative arts and architecture created between the first and second world wars.

Disillusioned by the commercial failure of Art Nouveau and concerned by competitive advances in design and manufacturing made by Austria and Germany in the early years of the century, French designers recognized that they could rejuvenate a moribund industry (and an important sector of the French economy) by reestablishing their traditional role as international leaders in the luxury trades (a reputation that reached its apex in the eighteenth century). The founding in 1900 of the Société des Artistes Décorateurs, a professional designers’ association, marked the first official encouragement of new standards for French design and production through their annual exhibitions of member work. In 1912, the French government voted to sponsor an international exhibition of decorative arts to promote French preeminence in the design field. The exhibition, originally scheduled for 1915, was postponed on account of World War I and did not take place until 1925.

Open Education Resource .The 1910 original edition

A professional resource for the design curious

Billauer, Barbara P., When Did Art Deco Begin? The Role of the Secessionist Movement (August 8, 2013). Trans Lux, The Journal of the Art Deco Society of Washington, 2013,