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From Ruhlmann To Rohde: How French Art Deco Became American, Lily K. Meehan '14

Summer Research Program

The American art deco designers of the 1930s were truly innovators, inventors and artists. They were not, however, the only ones creating “a modern world” during this time. In fact, America was one of the last countries to embrace the art deco style which was thriving in Germany, Austria, and France. There was a strong connection between the French art décoratifs movement and early 20th century American industrial designs. This paper investigates how the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts held in Paris in 1925 heavily influenced the start of the American art deco movement.