Art Deco Posters

By Anthony Velonis, New York City Federal Art Project, WPA, 1938

Royal mail lines poster. Horace Tyalor,1925

Toward Modernism
The art deco movement of the early 20th century straddled the line between and the traditionally decorative and the harsh assertiveness of modernism and proved to be a transformative period in art and design.  Emerging from Paris in the 1920s, by the 30s, the style was ubiquitous - influencing fashion, jewellery, furniture, appliances, architecture and commercial and industrial design and art.

Defined by its bold lines and geometric planes, art deco rejected the organic elegance of art nouveau, which had dominated the preceding period, in favour of  modernist and futuristic style elements, though it did also draw inspiration from such exotic and ancient sources as Aztec and Egyptian design.

Reproduction of a New York decoscape. Available at Amazon

A Striking Statement

Grand Prix poster. 1937. Amazon

Not least because of its bold design characteristics, the style lent itself particularly well to commercial art and in the 20s and 30s, at the height of art deco's popularity, there were numerous posters depicting anything from tourism to cinema. The posters reflected the eclectic vibrancy of the jazz age and the promise of the modern world, with its rapidly expanding technological wonders.

Although by the close of the 1940s deco had lost ground in the popularity stakes, it was rediscovered in the 1960s and is now recognized as one of the most significant design movements in modern history and still widely popular, with collectors and the general public alike.

The Hoover Building
Art Deco and Modernist Society

Suitcase as ocean liner.Razzia print.  Montepanasse Gallery