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The 17th World Congress on Art Deco© – Day Two

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Poster art for the 17th World Congress on Art Deco.

Poster art for the 2025 World Congress. Image courtesy of the Paris Art Deco Society and ICADS.

Day Two – Tuesday, October 21st

The Congress really began on Tuesday and set the schedule that we would follow through Friday. Arriving at 8:30 at the Auditorium of the Cité de l’Architecture attendees were treated to coffee, juice and a nice assortment of breakfast pastries .

The Auditorium of the Cité de l’Architecture ready to welcome attendees to the 17th World Congress on Art Deco.

Then from 9:00 – 10:45 lectures, a coffee break, with lectures resuming at 11:15 and going to 12:15.

Welcome & Lectures

President of the Paris Art Deco Society, Pascal Yves Laurent, opening the World Congress on Art Deco.

Pascal Yves Laurent, President of the Paris Art Deco Society, welcoming the attendees and officially opening the Congress.

Three American Women Artists and Designers in 1920s Paris

The first lecture of the Congress given by Kathleen Murphy Skolnik.

The first lecture, given by Kathleen Murphy Skolnik.

The first lecture of the Congress was given by teacher, author and historian Kathleen Murphy Skolnik. Focusing on the careers of three American women, Berenice Abbott, Eyre de Lanux and Ruth Reeves all living and working in 1920s Paris.

: Polychrome console by Eyre de Lanux.

: Textiles by Ruth Reeves

Paris Fashion at the Exposition

Brian Scott ready to give his lecture about fashion exhibited at the 1925 exposition.

Brian Scott on stage ready to give his lecture.

Vintage clothing collector and fashion historian Brian Scott, gave the next lecture. Focusing on the Paris fashions exhibited at the 1925 fair at both the Grand Palais and the Pavilion of Elegance on the Cours-la-Reine.

: Pavillon de l’Elegance

: Jeanne Lanvin display

: Julie Lord in vintage 1920s outfit bought in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Julie Lord and Brian Scott

After the mid-morning coffee break and before the next two lectures the Congress had a visit, via Zoom, from a surprise guest from England, Bevis Hillier.

Bevis Hillier addressing the Congress attendees from England via Zoom.

Hillier is one of the most important people in the history of Art Deco. His 1968 book, Art Deco was the first major work on the style. And his curation of the exhibit and catalog of The World of Art Deco at The Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, helped to increase popular awareness of the interwar style. And although he denies he coined the term “Art Deco”, he certainly made it definitive.

: Art Deco (1968). Image from ebay.com

: The World of Art Deco (1971). Catalog of the exhibit at The Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. Image from thriftbooks.com

Attractions and Leisure at the Exposition

Alain-René Hardy ready to present his lecture on leisure activities at the 1925 fair.

Alain-René Hardy ready to tell Congress attendees how attendees spent leisure time at the 1925 fair.

20th-century decorative art expert Alain-René Hardy provided us with a look at the 1925 Exposition’s amusement park plus other leisurely activities for patrons of the fair to enjoy.

: Touring cars for hire

: Refreshment kiosk

: Scenic railway along the Seine.

Perfumery at the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative and Industrial Arts

Closing the morning lectures Tristan Hinschberger and Perfumery at the 1925 Exposition.

Based on his second Master thesis, Tristan Hinschberger, gave a lecture on how the perfume manufacturers collaborated with artists and obtained an independent pavilion at the 1925 fair.

: Lalique display for Robert Bienaime, French Perfumery.

: Roger & Gallet Perfume – display by Lalique

: Guerlain exhibit possibly by Reymon.

Lunch

Each day after the lectures Congress attendees were provided with a very nice boxed lunch in the Salon d’About.

Lunch box containing a sandwich, roll, salad, bottled water and dessert – also, a souvenir from our trip.

Located on the upper floors of the Cité of Architecture and Heritage, the space was originally the home of Paul Deschamps, director of the Musée des Mounuments Français at the Trocadéro. The Deschamps family lived there until 1961. The space, now gutted of its original interior, serves as reception hall. And the views of Paris from the outdoor terrace are spectacular.

The daytime view of the Eiffel Tower and the Palais de Chaillot from the Salon d’About terrace.

Chris enjoying the brisk lunchtime views – Oh, look! The Eiffel Tower.

Cité of Architecture and Heritage

After lunch, Congress attendees received a tour of the Cité of Architecture and Heritage. Closed to the public on Tuesdays, we therefore had the place to ourselves. And included private tours of the, The 20th Century Gallery and the exhibit Paris 1925: Art Deco & Its Architects.

Our tour began in the Casting Gallery. The origins of this collection go back to 1878. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814 – 1879) proposed the transformation of the Trocadero Palace into a museum displaying models and landmarks from around France after the world’s fair closed. The Museum of Comparative Sculpture opened in 1882 after Viollet-le-Duc’s death. The gallery showcases architectural innovations from the Middle Ages through the present day.

: Facade of plaster recreation

: An example of the anterior of plaster casts

Over the last 130 years thousands of life size plaster casts have been collected. When the gallery relocated to the Palais de Chailott for the 1937 world’s fair the collection greatly enlarged.

Examples Medieval & Gothic Architecture Plaster Casts

Detail of the arch, below left.

: I am not an example of Medieval & Gothic Architecture Plaster Casts!

: Genuine medieval stained glass was also featured.

While wandering through the Plaster Cast Gallery, we came across a model that really caught our eye. L’inspiration, by Alfred-Alphonse Bottiau (1889 – 1951), a sculpture for the pediment of Pavillon de Tête in the Paris wing of the Palais de Chaillot for the 1937 World’s Fair.

The wood and plaster model for L'inspiration (1937) by Alfred-Alphonse Bottiau.

Alfred-Alphonse Bottiau’s plaster and wood model for L’inspiration, 1937.

After a lengthy tour of the medieval section including recreated catacombs, Anthony was anxious to get to the Exposition display.

His face says it all!

Modern and Contemporary Architecture

The big highlight in the Modern and Contemporary Architecture gallery is the recreation of an apartment from Le Corbusier’s Unite d’ Habitation in Marseille. In 1947 Le Corbusier received the commission to design a multi-family housing project for people of Marseille who lost their homes during the bombings of the Second World War. Completed in 1952, this was the first of a number housing projects he would design focusing on communal living for the inhabitants to live, play and shop in a “vertical garden city”.

: Walking in and to the right

: is a compact

: yet functional kitchen.

: A cozy dining room with built in storage.

: Another view

: A fairly large living space for entertaining.

: A steep staircase rises to the second level.

: Landing at the top of the stairs.

: Two small, long bedrooms mirror each other. Both have a private sink and share a balcony.

Looking down on the living room in Le Corbusier’s Unite d’ Habitation apartment.

: The Master Suite

: A serviceable and stark master bath.

: Another angle of the suite

: Off the living room is the lanai.

: The bench hides built-in storage.

A view from the lanai – it looks so spacious.

Then the crowd shuffles in.

Paris 1925: Art Deco & Its Architects

Paris 1925 l'Art Deco et ses Architectes

Paris 1925 Art Deco and its Architects

Plans for the layout of the exposition

This exhibit, which runs until March 29, 2026, offers an immersive reconstruction of the 1925 Exposition, through a virtual model. It features the work of such famous 20th-Century architects as, Le Corbusier, Henri Sauvage, Auguste Perret and Robert Mallet-Stevens and the connections between their works and the emerging concept of modernity.

Below are just a sample of the many renderings, pictures and examples on display.

Rendering of the Tourism Pavilion

: Scale model of the Tourism Pavilion

: Looking straight on

: And from the other side

The Port of Honour by d’Henry Favier and André Ventre.

The monumental Gate of Honor, located next to the Grand Palais, served as just one of the entrances to the 1925 exposition. This was the principle entrance used for ceremonial events.

The preparatory drawings for the Oasis Fountain screen and the Laurel leaf inspiration.

The laurel leaf inspired Henry Favier’s Oasis Fountain screen. Edgar Brandt’s studio produced the final product.

The Edgar Brandt exhibit.

At top is Edgar Brandt’s Furniture Collection Gallery. Henry Favier’s Oasis screen dominates the wall on the right.

Attached to the Esplanade des Invalides, The gate with floral decoration is surrounded by a bas-relief by Edgar Brandt.

At the bottom is an original sketch for the entrance gates.

Rendering of entrance hall for the French Embassy.

Evening Cocktail Reception at the Salon d’About

A reception for Art Deco enthusiasts.

: The Champagne flowed freely

: Anthony enjoying a bit of bubbly.

After our tours of the exhibits at the Cité of Architecture and Heritage finished we had time to return to our rooms before the cocktail reception at 8:00 at the Salon d’About. Like the evening before, champagne flowed freely and there were many delicious hors d’oeuvres to choose from.

Chatting with new friends.

And sharing a laugh or two.

If the views of Paris from the terrace at lunch were spectacular, at night it was magical. And none of the attendees seemed to mind that it had become chilly and windy.

Braving the brisk temperature.

The night time view of the Palais de Chaillot and the Eiffel Tower from the Salon d’About terrace.

So after gazing at the view, eating more hors d’oeuvres and drinking several more glasses of champagne, we decided it would be best to call it a night. We headed back to the Airbnb since we knew the next day was going to be even busier.

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)

Sources

Online

archdaily.com/

citedelarchitecture.fr

wikipedia.org/

Written

17th World Congress on Art Deco© Program

Meet you at the Met

It was a cool and drizzly day when we headed on our journey to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to meet up with friends. With many special functions going on, we concentrated on the Berenice Abbott Exhibit.

Man Ray portrait of Berenice Abbott, 1921.

1921 portrait of Berenice Abbott by Man Ray. Image from the Museum of Modern Art Archives.

Berenice Alice Abbott (1898 – 1991) was an American photographer who documented 1930’s urban New York. Born Bernice Abbott, she briefly attended Ohio State University before leaving in early 1918 and moving to New York City. In NY, Bernice studied sculpture and painting. Looking to improve her skills, she travelled to Paris in 1921 and studied sculpture with Emile Bourdelle. It was while in Paris that she adopted the French spelling “Berenice”.

In Paris (1923), the famous photographer, Man Ray, was seeking a darkroom assistant, someone with no previous knowledge of photography. Willing to take on a challenge, Abbott applied for the position and was hired.

Abbott wrote:

“I took to photography like a duck to water. I never wanted to do anything else.”

Taken by her skills, he allowed her to use his studio to take her own photos. Abbott’s subjects were people in the artistic and literary worlds, French nationals, and casual visitors.

James Joyce portrait photograph of James Joyce. From the collection of the Met.

Berenice Abbott portrait of James Joyce (1926). Image from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1925, Man Ray introduced her to the photographic works of Eugène Atget. Meeting Atget, she persuaded him to sit for a portrait in 1927. He died shortly thereafter and Abbott acquired the prints and negatives remaining in Eugène Atget’s studio at his death in 1927.

Berenice visited New York City in early 1929 and saw the potential that could be captured by photography. By September of the same year, she closed her Paris studio and moved back to New York City.

Over the next decade, she documented the ever-changing landscape of the city as it became a modern metropolis. Her work is a historical record of many now-destroyed buildings and neighborhoods in Manhattan.

Album page showing the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan.

Abbott’s album showing the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan. Photo by the authors.

Another album page showing the 59th Street 9th Ave El Station and the waterfront.

Another page from Berenice’s 1929 photo album of New York City, showing the 9th Avenue El Station and the NYC waterfront. Photo by the authors.

: Automat, 877 Ninth Avenue was one of Abbott’s 1930s photographs that was in her 1939 book, Changing New York. Photo by the authors.

: Another photograph from Changing New York – Manhattan Bridge Looking Up (1936). Photo by authors.

Changing New York, E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc.

The culmination of Abbott’s 1930s New York City photographs, Changing New York, 1939, published by E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc. Photo by the authors.

Moving from the Berenice Abbott exhibit, we moved to the Modern and Contemporary Art.

On our way to Gallery 912 (Abstraction), we came across some treasures of Modern America paintings from the 1920s – 1940s. The most impressive, in our opinion, is America Today (1930 – 1931). This massive mural by Thomas Hart Benton (1889 – 1975). Benton, commissioned by the New School for Social Research to paint a mural for the board room of their new building on West 12th Street, designed by Joseph Urban. Even though created at the onset of The Great Depression, the mural, consisting of ten panels, showcasing American industry from the rural South to the industrialized North projects hope and promise. The video below tells the story of the mural’s fascinating history and how it ended up in the Met’s collection.

America Today, by Thomas Hart Benton at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Chris taking in the “Instruments of Power” panel of Thomas Hart Benton’s massive mural America Today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by the authors.

In addition to America Today, there were three paintings from the interwar period that caught our eye. In chronological order the first was, Edison Mazda (1924), by Stuart Davis (1892 – 1964). Clearly inspired by the cubist works of Pablo Picasso and George Barque, with its use of collage-like composition and flattened space. The artwork of Davis’ has also been describes as proto pop art, with his use of bold and brash colors.

Edison Mazda (1924) by Stuart Davis. Photo by the authors.

The second painting, Georgia O’Keeffe’s (1887 – 1986) The East River from the Shelton Hotel (1928) is the view O’Keeffe had from her apartment window on the 30th floor of the Shelton Hotel. Anthony, being more of a city guy, is fonder of her city scapes than her series of flowers. He loves the way she captures the particular bleak feel of the East River water front and Long Island City on a winter’s day.

The East River from the Shelton Hotel (1928) by Georgia O'Keeffe. In the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s East River from the Shelton Hotel (1928). Photo by the authors.

And then there’s Let My People Go (circa 1935) by Aaron Douglas (1899 – 1979). Douglas, a major graphic artist and muralist of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s and 1930s, visually interprets the biblical story of God’s order to Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, in his flat, silhouetted style.

Aaron Douglas' painting Let My People Go.

Let My People Go (circa 1935) by Aaron Douglas. Photo by the authors.

While the Berenice Abbott exhibition was the major draw to visit the Metropolitan, their collection of Ruba Rombic glassware were more must see items. This Cubist inspired glass, designed by Reuben Haley (1872 – 1933) in 1928 is one of our favorite.

: Collection featuring Ruba Rombic, and cigarette boxes by Donald Deskey and Wolfgang Hoffmann

: Collection of items designed by Henry Dreyfuss and Walter Dorwin Teague

: Collection of Norman Bel Geddes, Russell Wright, Walter Dorwin Teague, Raymond Loewy

Some of the Metropolitan’s collection of Consolidated Glass Company’s Ruba Rombic glassware. Photo by the authors.

The four pieces (out of seven) on display are, (from left to right) the Whiskey Glass, 10 oz. Tumbler, 9 oz. Tumbler and the Jug, all in the pieces displayed are in Consolidated Glass’ cased, silver color.

Found in Gallery 912 – Abstraction, along with Ruba Rombic, is this group of iconic 1920s and 1930s design. I hate to say it but this “gallery” almost seems like an after thought, off to the side and tucked away, practically underneath a staircase.

From left to right, Birtman electric toaster, Sparton Bluebird (Model 566) Radio, and Westclox’s 1938 “Big Ben” alarm clock. Photo by the authors.

The Birtman Toaster from 1932 (with a window in it so you watch the bread turning brown) and Westclox 1938 version of the “”Big Ben” alarm clock are both designs by Henry Dreyfuss (1904 – 1972). And Sparton’s Bluebird radio is a famous piece created by Walter Dorwin Teaque (1883 – 1960).

Light court of the American Wing at the Met.

Light court of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by the authors.

Our final stop was the American Wing. Set on two balconies surrounding a large light court were examples of early American silver, glass, and ceramics.

Silver Charger by The Kalo Shop, 1937, on display in the American Wing of the Met.

Charger made by The Kalo Shop in Chicago, Illinois, circa 1937. Photo by the authors.

"Our America" series by Rockwell Kent for Vernon Kilns.

“Our America” pottery series by Rockwell Kent for Vernon Kilns, 1939. Photo by the authors.

Prominently featured were glass panels by the Tiffany Studio, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959) and George Washington Maher (1864 – 1926) among others.

Autumn Landscape, Agnes F. Northrop for the Tiffany Studios.

Autumn Landscape (1923-1924), attributed to Agnes F. Northtrop (1857 – 1953) made by the Tiffany Studios. Photo by the authors.

: George Washington Maher Panel (photo: cdn.incollect.com)

: Frank Lloyd Wright Panel (photo: Metropolitan Museum)

Deco, or not?

Here is a sweet little pitcher. But is it deco?

Not!

As stated above, it was designed by Hugh C. Robertson and produced by Chelsea Keramic Art Works between 1880-1889.

These were just the tip of the iceberg of the many wonderful pieces in the Met’s collection. If you are in New York City it is certainly worthwhile to spend a day there.