"American Modern, 1925-1940: Design For A New Age"
2002-01-12 until 2002-04-07
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
Philadelphia, PA, USA

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announces an exhibition of iconic images of modern American design entitled American Modern, 1925-1940: Design for a New Age, opening January 12, 2002 and running through April 7, 2002.

Tracing the rise of the American decorative aesthetic through the work of 50 celebrated masters of design, the exhibition features objects that have come to symbolize life in America in the 1920s and 30s. The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Federation of Arts. Support has been provided by the National Patrons of the AFA.

More than 150 objects ranging from household appliances to furniture, textiles, posters, radios, and clocks will be on view, arranged chronologically and thematically. Norman Bel Geddes, Donald Deskey, Paul Frankl, Raymond Loewy, Isamu Noguchi, Eliel Saarinen, Walter Dorwin Teague, Walter von Nessen, and Russel Wright are among the designers represented.

Drawn from the Metropolitan Museums collection as well as from the John C. Waddell Collection, a major promised gift to the Metropolitan, the objects document the evolution of American design during the years between the two world wars, showing an initial influence from European movements in France, Germany, and Scandinavia, yet ultimately embodying a look that is unmistakably American.

IMAGE:
Norman Bel Geddes, Patriot Radio
1940, Manufacturer: Emerson Radio and
Phonograph Corporation,
Catalin John C. Waddell Collection,
Promised Gift of John C. Waddell to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Courtesy AFA.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Pennsylvania

Other Important Exhibitions in Philadelphia