ART DECO DESIGNERS
One of the greatest things about the Art Deco movement are the designers who contributed to it. Their lives are full of passion and their art displays it. I've chosen a few of the multitude of artists during this era. Each has made their own mark on the art world and the Art Deco period.
NORMAN BEL GEDDES (1893-1958) was one of America's great stage and industrial designers of our time. Geddes studied briefly at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Art Institute of Chicago. He became interested in the theatre and became an accomplished set designer, producer and director of over 200 theatrical productions. In the late 1920's his interest became industrial design.
Two of his streamlined designs are showcased in an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His futuristic visions were best displayed at the NY World's Fair (1939-40) in the General Motors Futurama building and exhibit "Metropolis of Tomorrow". A book he wrote, Horizons (1932), describes his thoughts on a futuristic world. Visit auctions going on right now having to do with Norman Bel Geddes.
CLARICE CLIFF (1899 - 1972) was a British potter that started her career at the age of thirteen and studied at the RCA in London. The pottery she crafted helped define the Art Deco movement. Her best known work is 'Bizarre' ware that was introduced in 1929.
The pottery is colorful, using oranges, reds and yellows with angular shapes. Much of her work is highly collectible. If you'd like to learn more about Clarice Cliff and her pottery, you may be interested in this book, Clarice Cliff: The Art of Bizarre by Leonard Griffin. Visit auctions of Clarice Cliff pottery and more here.
SONIA DELAUNAY (1885-1979) was born in the Ukraine. She studied at St.Petersburg and Karlsruhe in Germany . She married painter Robert Delaunay and with him helped found the Orphism movement. They designed many sets and costumes for Diaghilev's Ballet Russe.
As-well-as her career as an abstract artist she also had an important influence on textile design internationally. She was awarded many prizes and her work is in most important public galleries. If you're interested in Sonia Delaunay's work, visit these auctions.
ERIC GILL (1882-1940) was born in Sussex, England. He studied lettering under calligrapher Edward Johnston. He is best known for his additions to typography (Perpetua, Gills Sans), but he was also a sculptor. Many of his sculptures are in the Westminster Cathedral. Even though Gill was a devout Roman Catholic it did not prevent him from living a morally challenged lifestyle according to the 1989 biography by Fiona MacCarthy.
In the 1930's he became a successful engraver and was made the "Royal Designer for Industry" by the Royal Society of Arts. This is the highest honor for a designer in Britian. The essays he wrote involved the relationship between art and religon. Many of his engravings depict religious subjects, but some are graphic, erotic scenes. If you're interested in purchasing Eric Gill's work or essays, visit these auctions.
LE CORBUSIER (1887-1965) was Swiss born, but known as a French architect becoming a citizen of France in the 1930s. He was born with the name Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris. In 1920 he adopted 'Le Corbusier' as a pseudonym from his maternal Grandfather's name. He traveled extensively through Europe in his younger years. Finding influences every where he went. He began his own architectural firm in a partnership with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret in the 1920s.
Le Corbusier became very involved in urban planning through his architecture. At one time proposing a 'Contempory City' for 3 million inhabitants. His talents were not limited to architecture, he also painted, sculpted, wrote and designed modern furniture. Visit auctions pertaining to Le Corbusier's work here.