Art Deco

Back in print in an expanded edition after a decade's absence, this dazzling survey of Art Deco is arguably the most lavish and comprehensive monograph on the sleek style that was consecrated at the scandal-ridden 1925 Paris Exhibition, to which Arwas devotes the opening chapter. Rene Lalique, Paul Iribe, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Erte and Louis Icart helped define what was ``essentially a French movement'' in the opinion of Arwas, a London gallery owner. He traces Art Deco's flowering in furniture, metal, silver, jewelry, enamel, lacquer, figurines, bronzes, sculpture, painting, posters, graphics, book illustrations, bookbinding, glass and ceramics. The extraordinary objects shown in 437 plates (340 in color) are among the finest Art Deco creations ever made. Arwas knowledgeably delineates the impact of the style on artists ranging from the U.S. to Czechoslovakia, among them Georg Jensen, Robert Delaunay, Kees Van Dongen, Jacques Lipchitz, Eric Gill and Jacob Epstein. (Nov.)