Art Deco – From Paris to Scotland

In relation to the exhibition Art Deco Scotland: Design and Architecture in the Jazz Age, this lecture will focus upon the French influence on Scottish architecture and visual culture in the early-twentieth century. A brief overview of the development of architecture and the decorative arts in Scotland since the mid-nineteenth century will be followed by a focus on developments arising from the staging of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925. In its wake, the Art Deco style became a significant phenomenon during the remainder of the inter-war era.

The second part of the lecture will focus on the categories of building types and designed objects through which Art Deco was experienced – public buildings, housing, commercial buildings and transport, including the interiors of ocean liners. The lecture will last 45 minutes, illuminated by a richly illustrated PowerPoint.

Bruce Peter is Professor of Design History at The Glasgow School of Art.