"Art Nouveau & Art Deco at the Turn of the 19th Century" with Ruth Grim

Tuesday, April 29, 2025 | 2:00 - 3:00pm

Join guest lecture curator Ruth Grim in the OMAM Boardroom for a fascinating look at Art Nouveau and Art Deco. These two styles on either side of c. 1900 dominated the decorative arts for decades and gave us a new appreciation for artistry in the applied arts. Like the two sides of a coin, the stories of Art Nouveau and Art Deco objects are joined in history and tell us so much about the dreams and aspirations of both the people who made them as well as the consumers who purchased them.

The turn of the 19th century saw a burst of energy in both the fine arts and the decorative arts in Europe and the United States. Spurred on by – and in many ways, a reaction against – the Industrial Revolution, artists and artisans on both continents poured an immense amount of creativity and exquisite craftsmanship into a “new” artistic style that seemed determined to display their skills at the highest level. From the highly complex lithographic designs of Alphonse Mucha (French, born Czech Republic, 1860-1939) to the furniture and interiors of Victor Horta (Belgian, 1861-1947), jewelry of Rene Lalique (French, 1860-1945) and Paris metro station entryways by Hector Guimard (French,1867-1942), Europe and the United States seemed bursting with artistic energy at the end of the 19th century.

After first looking at the many manifestations of Art Nouveau c. 1890-1900 in Europe and America, the talk will then turn to the style that followed it and ushered in a new era celebrating the 1920s machine age – Art Deco. Where Art Nouveau emphasized organic forms and flowing, sinuous lines, Art Deco embraced the regularity and square geometry of machine-built objects. Sleek art deco objects, fashion and design made of gleaming chrome, glass or beaded fabrics became all the rage in the roaring ‘20s and 30s in America and abroad. They came to represent the height of the “modern” look in which speed and luxury seemed to go hand-in-hand in the first decades of the last century.

This lecture is free, but registration is requested as seats are limited. The program will last approximately one hour.

Registration will close when talk is full.

About the Speaker

Ruth Grim has a Master of Arts from the New York University Institute of Fine Arts with a specialization in 18th and 19th century European art. Her museum career spans 32 years of curatorial work throughout the state including 18 years at the Bass Museum in Miami Beach, seven years at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, and more than six years as chief curator at the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona Beach.