Pewter, an alloy of tin and lead, used to bring to mind matte, anthracite-grey mugs, flasks, and tableware susceptible to serving up lead poisoning, in addition to whatever else the kitchen had to offer. In other words, anything but this lozenge-shaped, organic biscuit box, marked “KAYSERZINN”. This perception was changed when Engelbert Kayser created “KAYSERZINN”...
Bradley: His Book only had nine issues, but both it and its author made a lasting impact on American typography and graphic design. Will Bradley was a charter member of the Boston Arts and Crafts society, making him a key player in shaping the arts and crafts movement in America. Dedicated to handcrafting his printed...
Like a ballerina in a pirouette, this delicate vase stands with its handles raised and reaching for each other, like graceful, slender arms. The vase’s sculptural, elongated, and organic form epitomizes Art Nouveau. It is also one for which the Netherlandish Rozenburg Pottery and Porcelain Factory was particularly well known. Rozenburg produced these works of...
Recognized for an Art Nouveau style all his own, French architect Hector Guimard (1867-1942) designed over a hundred buildings during a prolific fifteen-year span: 1898-1913. He is perhaps best known for having devised the iconic Paris Metro entrance in 1907, a wide-spread scheme employing standardized components that recreate natural forms through the structural and sculptural...
The Cooper Hewitt Library has a number of linoleum catalogs. Carpettes Linoleum is our newest, and to date, earliest one. This flooring trade catalog from Lancaster, England was printed for distribution to French consumers, who like many other European and American buyers, liked the durability, versatility, cleanliness, and the variety of designs available in linoleum...
This roll of wallpaper sports a rather unusual look. The design is printed vertically but it is not a continuous pattern. Intended to be installed as a wide border or frieze running horizontally, each almost square repeat of this design would be cut apart with the sections installed side by side, as the floral and...
Art nouveau as both an architectural style and a style for any kind of ornament, permeated so much of European culture during the time period of 1890–1910. Fashion, graphic design, household furnishings and so many other everyday objects reflected this style – even your house keys were Art Nouveau! The Cooper-Hewitt Library has a large...
This desk is an example of the Italian interpretation of the Art Nouveau style, known as Stile Floreale. This desk model was exhibited by Carlo Zen, a Milanese furniture manufacturer, at the 1902 First International Exposition of Modern Decorative Arts, in Turin, Italy. The exhibition helped Italy to show the rest of the world that...
This sidewall paper in the art nouveau style is printed in imitation of a tapestry or woven textile as seen in the pixelated-like borders of the motifs. This is part of a matched set which would include a coordinated wide frieze and ceiling paper, a trend which began around 1900 and remained popular until about...
In summer, when weddings are frequent, the thought of objects given in affection or love, makes a visit to the jewelry collection seem appropriate. This heart-form brooch is one of a group of jewelry by Charles Horner (English, 1821-1896) given to the Museum in December. Horner (English, 1821-1896) was an actual silversmith, watchmaker and enamellist...
From its inception, exuberant, organic, and sensuous rococo style has inspired subsequent revivals and new movements. As rococo’s influence once again gains momentum, Cooper-Hewitt invites scholars Laura Auricchio and Paul Greenhalgh to discuss the social and cultural histories behind rococo in eighteenth-century France and its revival in Art Nouveau at the end of the nineteenth...
