Descriptive term applied to a style of decorative arts that
was widely disseminated in Europe and the USA during the 1920s
and 1930s. Derived from the style made popular by the
Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels
Modernes held in Paris in 1925, the term has been used only
since the late 1960s, when there was a revival of interest in
the decorative arts of the early 20th century. Since then the
term ‘Art Deco’ has been applied to a wide variety of works
produced during the inter-war years, and even to those of the
German Bauhaus. But Art Deco was essentially of French origin,
and the term should, therefore, be applied only to French
works and those from countries directly influenced by France.
