Celebrating a Century of Art Deco

Graphic lines; geometric patterns; and fresh, fashionable motifs: these are among the tenets of Art Deco design. 

A catch-all term for the expanse of architecture and decorative artworks innovated between the First and Second World Wars, Art Deco emerged from a 20th-century French endeavor to reestablish the nation as a leader in luxury contemporary design. The preceding Art Nouveau movement was deemed a commercial failure, and France was poised to regain their footing as the premier producer of finely crafted treasures for the modern age. 

The turn-of-the-century founding of the Société des Artistes Décorateurs established new standards for French design and manufacturing, which circulated by way of annual member exhibitions. But it was the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925, that formally introduced Art Deco as the “it” style of the day. 

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Exposition in 2025, we're spotlighting a selection of past and present Met Store designs and the Art Deco–era Museum artworks that inspired them.

The Exposition welcomed more than 20 countries to participate and approximately 16 million visitors over the course of its successful seven-month run, during which state-of-the-art feats of architecture, painting, interior design, and jewelry were presented. Notably, these items were primarily ornamental—even utilitarian objects such as tableware and furniture emphasized form over function. But Art Deco designers took vastly unique approaches to interpreting recurring motifs, including the human figure, flowers, plants, and animals, such as this elegant polar bear sculpted around 1923 by François Pompon (French, 1855–1933).

The Met’s Polar Bear was a favorite model of the renowned decorator and Pompon’s friend Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (French, 1879–1933), who featured it prominently in many of his interiors—to include his widely visited room settings at the 1925 Exposition. Our François Pompon: Polar Bear sculpture reproductions, available in multiple sizes and colorways in-store, pay homage to this popular Art Deco–era design.

The Met purchased Pompon’s Polar Bear from the Parisian Galerie Edgar Brandt in 1930, but much of the Museum’s collection of Art Deco objects is thanks to a curator of decorative arts by the name of Joseph Breck. In the 1920s, Breck, who was highly attuned to this flourishing European movement, was able to acquire important works by Art Deco designers such as Ruhlmann and René-Jules Lalique (French, 1860–1945). 

Having established the Museum’s first gallery for modern design in 1923, Breck regularly rotated The Met’s burgeoning collection of Art Deco treasures for the American public to enjoy. These holdings have since expanded to include examples of fashion, which enjoyed an exceptionally strong rapport with the Art Deco movement. New for 2025 is the French Deco Pump Shoe Ornament, which honors a pair of French pumps—made in 1930–37 by Netch and Frater and now in The Met's Costume Institute—bearing a characteristically Art Deco starburst motif. To learn more about the history of our collectible shoe ornaments, read our blog post.

This holiday season, wish your loved ones a "Merry Christmas" with our elevated holiday cards reinterpreting a print by Amy Drevenstedt (American, b. 1886) from 1930 in The Met collection. The artist's original motif of Art Deco–style angels is richly embellished with foil, and each envelope is luxuriously lined. Golden seals featuring a selection of The Met's logos lend an artful finishing touch to your greeting. 

Synonymous with the Art Deco aesthetic is Romain de Tirtoff (French, b. Russia, 1892–1990), better known as Erté. The artist enjoyed a multifaceted career as a costume and set designer, and he’s especially renowned for the fabulous covers he created for Harper's Bazaar from 1915 to 1936. The Met houses an important collection of Erté's original gouaches, which exemplify his unparalleled Art Deco designs. 

Erté's singular visions have influenced multiple previous Met Store designs, such as the Erté Zizi Jewelry, which was named after the French ballet dancer Zizi Jeanmaire.

An eye-catching dress ornament (ca. 1923) by Georges Fouquet (French, 1862–1957); jewelry worn by the impossibly stylish Marquise Raoul de Saint Cyr (Juliette de Saint Cyr) in a fabulous portrait (ca. 1925) by Jean Dunand (French, b. Switzerland, 1877–1942); a sophisticated necklace (1930–39) formerly owned by legendary actress Lauren Bacall; and a cigarette box (ca. 1928) designed by Donald Deskey (American, 1894–1989), who famously provided furnishings for the Art Deco interior of Radio City Music Hall in New York City, are among the other Art Deco embellishments in the Museum's holdings that have inspired past Met Store adornments and accessories. 

What the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes revealed was that by 1925, Art Deco was already an internationally mature style with staying power—it would endure in its many forms throughout Europe until well into the 1930s. A century on, we continue to celebrate Art Deco elegance with artful gifts evoking this landmark style.

 Shop our full range of Art Deco–inspired gifts and more in-store and online.