Art Déco, like its forerunner Art Nouveau, was an eclectic style that drew inspiration from many sources. Designers borrowed from the pictorial inventions of contemporary avant-garde artists. The exciting colours and unfamiliar themes of the Ballets Russes exerted an especially strong influence. Also the powerful imagery of Africa and the arts of Asia and Pre-Columbian America provided endless sources of form and pattern. This collection of Art Déco decoration shows a style that is equally adaptable and as enjoyable now as when it was first created.

Art Déco is part of a series that covers the decorative styles prevalent in Europe since the beginning of the Western calendar.