Art Deco Textiles. The French Designers

The period between the two world wars was one of extreme upheavals in politics, economics, and society as a whole. It was also a time of intense artistic creativity, culminating in the great Paris Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925, and the subsequent spread of the celebrated Art Deco style. The radical innovations in Art Deco fashion and interior decoration demanded new textile designs, and, as the period progressed, fabrics for clothes, upholstery, wallpaper, and rugs increasingly reflected the modernism, elegance, and vibrancy of the movement. As the French artist Raoul Dufy, himself a brilliant fabric designer, wrote, "Paintings have spilled from their frames and stained our dress and our walls." This sumptuous new book invites the reader to discover the spectacular world of Art Deco fabrics, with examples by designers such as Delaunay, Ruhlmann, Henry, Marrot, Dufresne, Benedictus, and dozens more. Alain-Rene Hardy, a noted French expert in twentieth-century decorative arts, has searched through museum holdings, manufacturers' archives, and private collections to find hundreds of examples of both hand- and machine-made textiles, many of them never before published. From the lavish to the minimalist, from luxurious floral patterns to subtle geometric variations in color and texture, Art Deco textiles continue to enthrall us with their originality, complexity, and vivacity. 310 color illustrations.

Alain-Rene Hardy is a former university lecturer and a specialist in 20th-century decorative art.