Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s

World of Art

by Alastair Duncan

Art Deco Complete is the last word in Art Deco, the most glamorous decorative arts style, and the one that shaped popular ideas of modern luxury. It covers furniture and interior decoration, sculpture, paintings, graphics, posters and bookbinding, glass, ceramics, lighting, textiles, metal work, and jewelry. It includes the work of all of the important Art Deco designers, from high-style French furniture makers to the creators of the popular “Streamline Moderne” style. And it is, in the spirit of Art Deco, a lavish and attractive book, as well as being authoritative and thorough. This 544-page volume includes more than 1,000 color images of classic Art Deco objects and spaces.


Its author is the colorful and experienced Alastair Duncan, who was for many years the expert who ran the twentieth-century decorative arts department at Christie’s in New York. Duncan is the author of many well-known books on Art Deco and Art Nouveau. This book will stand as his monument to Art Deco.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Art History, Reference, American

544 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took a while to read, although it is quite short. There are a lot of photographs to accompany the text, but still there are a lot of descriptions that lack illustrations, which was a bit annoying. It was, however, a good introduction to the subject, and has introduced me to names and terms which will come in handy when I tackle other books on my favourite art period.

[Claudio Malagrino · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extensive description of Art Deco works in the domains of Art and Decoration. Not so many examples on Architecture and not so many pictures, but it's a good reference for the subject. There's a good bibliographic reference at the end of the book.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many names, after names, after names, then years, and names of organizations. Hard to get to any substantial information in a narrative from.
Too many black and white illustrations. If color could not be afforded no point for a book about art essentially.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should I have dropped this at any point I would have broken my foot. This thing is enormous, a very interesting overview of art deco furniture, fabric, pottery, jewelry, and homewares. But though this is not a good volume to take backpacking, its an excellent book to flip through, read about various artists and designers, and sigh over the pictures.
Recommended for fans of art deco!

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine overview but spends the vast majority of the book describing the little fiddly bits of art deco examples, without really setting things in historical context.

[sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

not exactly what I was looking for

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many books on the art deco style, this one focuses mainly on sculpture and architecture, but does feature some great graphic design. Bloody expensive, though. Read before buying.