Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s

Posters of the Art Deco period, which once graced billboards and walls to advertise every variety of product, service, entertainment, or political cause, are today prized for the richness of their design and ingenuity; they offer inspiration for graphic designers and are highly collectible. Now, William Crouse, a long-time poster aficionado and collector, has selected more than 300 of the most sought-after examples of poster art created between the World Wars to include in this definitive volume. Organized thematically (aviation, communication, fashion, etc.), The Art Deco Poster presents a jaunty cavalcade of international poster design, and includes rare and unique examples by masters of the art form, including Nizzoli, Cassandre, and Beall. Each posterand#8212;superbly photographed under carefully controlled conditionsand#8212;is accompanied by an informative caption that addresses the aesthetic, sociological, economic, and/or political context of the image. The book includes an introduction by well-known Art Deco specialist Alastair Duncan. Praise for The Art Deco Poster:

"A handsome new volume...slick streamlines and speed are in abundance in this great collection of work." - Creative Review

"The time period between the two World Wars was a golden age of graphic design, an era when posters were a true art form. William Crouse has compiled over 300 beautiful examples in his new book, The Art Deco Poster." -PopSugar

"A feast for the eyes, this book is a wonderful study of an important graphic design genre." -Antiques and the Arts Weekly

andldquo;Mid-Century Modern Complete is an encyclopedic volume that sets out to create a comprehensive portrait of every aspect of post-war production. That means a shelf-busting size, around 1,000 illustrations and a fascinating text that places objects in their often tumultuous historical context.andrdquo;

andldquo;The organization is impeccable. . . . With each flip of the page, there is another recognizable image, and the reader is constantly in awe of the breadth of this movement and its evident impact on contemporary design.andrdquo;

Art Deco Complete is the last word in Art Deco, the most glamorous decorative arts style, and the one that shaped popular ideas of modern luxury. It covers furniture and interior decoration, sculpture, paintings, graphics, posters and bookbinding, glass, ceramics, lighting, textiles, metal work, and jewelry. It includes the work of all of the important Art Deco designers, from high-style French furniture makers to the creators of the popular and#147;Streamline Moderneand#8221; style. And it is, in the spirit of Art Deco, a lavish and attractive book, as well as being authoritative and thorough.and#160;This 544-pageand#160;volume includesand#160;more thanand#160;1,000 color images of classic Art Deco objects and spaces.

Its author is the colorful and experienced Alastair Duncan, who was for many years the expert who ran the twentieth-century decorative arts department at Christieand#8217;s in New York. Duncan is the author of many well-known books on Art Deco and Art Nouveau. This book will stand as his monument to Art Deco.

Art decoandmdash;the style of the flapper, the luxury ocean liner, and the skyscraperandmdash;came to epitomize the glamour, luxury, and hedonism of the Jazz Age. It burst onto the world stage at the 1925 Exposition internationale des art decoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris and quickly swept the globe. Its influence was felt everywhere, from the skylines of New York and Shanghai to the design of fashionable eveningwear, jewelry, and plastic radios. Above all, it became the style of the pleasure palaces of the ageandmdash;hotels, nightclubs, and movie theaters. This authoritative publication brings together leading experts in the field to explore the sources, varied forms of expression, distinct visual language, and global reach of deco. With its breathtaking illustrations, this lavish volume is the defi nitive book on what is, arguably, the most popular style of the 20th century.

This volume is the single best source for anyone interested in exploring and experiencing Mid-Century Modern, the international design movement that still influences homes and lifestyles from Palm Springs to Long Island and from Japan to Scandinavia. It is divided into three main sections: and#147;Media and Masters" profiles key creators, including Charles and Ray Eames, George Nakashima, Jean Prouvand#233;, and Eero Saarinen; and#147;Houses and Interiorsand#8221; presents 20 seminal and complete Mid-Century Modern homes and their furnishings, including buildings by Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, and Marcel Breuer; and an alphabetical dictionary of people, terms, and places is a comprehensive reference to the movement. The informed and accessible texts are illustrated with more than 1,000 images that bring together classics and rarities, mass-produced items and unusual objets dand#8217;art.

Alastair Duncan's work as an officer and consultant at Christie's New York from 1977-1990 has made himand#160;a leading authority on Art Deco and Art Nouveau decorative arts.and#160;This is hisand#160;thirty-third book on the decorative arts includingand#160;Abrams's Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany and American Art Deco. He lives in New York City.