Art deco

Art of the Early 20th Century (1910-1940)

  • "The Fountain" by Marcel Dumchamp

    "The Fountain" by Marcel Dumchamp
    Marcel Duchamp, hoping to dispel the idea of art only being pleasing to the eye, created Readymades, art pieces that had only minor alternations that were supposed to make audiences "think."
  • "New York, Early Twenties" by Thomas Hart Benton

    "New York, Early Twenties" by Thomas Hart Benton
    Missouri regionalism artist Thomas Hart Benton gives homage to his favorite adopted city New York City in this painting from the 1920s.
  • Louis Armstrong

    Louis Armstrong
    Louis Armstrong was a famous jazz musician known for playing the trumpet and cornet, renown his low, gravelly singing voice. Jazz originated in the early 1900s in New Orleans and this new style of music combined European and African styles. The 1920s or Jazz Age influenced music, but also fashion, dances, moral standards, youth culture, and race relations
  • "Menin at Midnight" by Will Longstaff

    "Menin at Midnight" by Will Longstaff
    This famous portrait was created in one sitting by Longstaff after he attended the unveiling of the Menin Gate in 1927 and claims he viewed an apparition of phantom troops which inspired this famous painting.
  • "Chop Suey" by Edward Hopper

    "Chop Suey" by Edward Hopper
    This painting merges bright colors and geometric shapes, common elements in 1920s art, of two women eating in a Chinese restaurant. The subjects are thought to be based on Hopper's wife. This work illustrates women's fashion and the more proactive roles of women during this time period.
  • Vogue Magazine

    Vogue Magazine
    Vogue magazine covers from the 1920s displayed the evolving fashions and mindsets of America with women taking a more active role in fashion and the workplace while also accepting their sexuality.
  • "American Gothic" by Grant Wood

    "American Gothic" by Grant Wood
    This iconic painting is compared by many to Leonardo de Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and "The Scream" by Edward Munch.
  • Chrysler Building designed by William Van Alen

    Chrysler Building designed by William Van Alen
    The spire of the Chrysler Building in New York City is indicative of the Art Deco style of the 1920s. It demonstrates its lavish ornamentation yet simple, streamlined composition.
  • "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali

    "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali
    "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali is a famous representation of the Surrealism movement which was a 20th-century avant-garde movement which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images (Google).
  • "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Grant Wood

    "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Grant Wood
    Grant Wood was an example of a regionalism artist who believed that art should incorporate the physiography, industry, and psychology of towns in America.
  • "Fire at Full Moon" by Paul Klee

    "Fire at Full Moon" by Paul Klee
    This painting by Swiss-German artist Paul Klee uses beautifully crafted geometric shapes accompanied by the red iconic cross that is thought to denote death and was created during a period of social unrest when Adolf Hitler was appointed the German Chancellor.
  • "Black Belt" by Archibald Motley

    "Black Belt" by Archibald Motley
    This painting is famous for its depiction of life of African-Americans during the 1920s and 30s. Motley was considered to be an important contributor to the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement centering on African-Americans.
  • "History of Mexico" by Diego Rivera

    "History of Mexico" by Diego Rivera
    This famous mural took 6 years for Rivera to complete and can be seen in the stairwell of The National Palace in Mexico City.
  • "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange

    "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange
    This famous photograph by Lange is of Florence Owens Thompson, a woman faced with uncertainty during The Great Depression of the 1930s in America.
  • "Modern Medicine" by Charles Henry Alston

    "Modern Medicine" by Charles Henry Alston
    Alston was a significant figure during the Harlem Renaissance and is known for his murals depicting African-Americans and their hardships during the 1920s and 1930s. This particular piece was painted in the Harlem Hospital.
  • "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso

    "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso
    This abstract monochromatic composition by famous artist Pablo Picasso depicts the horrors of World War II on the small Spanish town of Guernica.
  • "The Mountain" by Aristide Maillol

    "The Mountain" by Aristide Maillol
    French sculptor Aristide Maillol was best known for his female nudes which resembled a classical Grecian influence.
  • "The Two Fridas" by Frida Kahlo

    "The Two Fridas" by Frida Kahlo
    This painting was done during a period of personal strife by Kahlo who was suffering from a recent divorce from her husband, the famed artist Diego Rivera.
  • Gone with the Wind film

    Gone with the Wind film
    Touted as one of the greatest films of all times, Gone with the Wind was released in 1939 and was one of the first Technicolor films ever made. It had full color plus action and sound, a first for the era of film.
  • Wizard of Oz film

    Wizard of Oz film
    The Wizard of Oz was not only a film that established new boundaries by using both black and white and color technology when having a full-length color film had not been achieved yet, but it was also a cultural phenomenon with the meaning illustrated with its story line.