Sarasota, FL – The Sarasota Art Museum is set to transport visitors back to a pivotal era of design and visual communication with its highly anticipated exhibition, “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration.” Opening its doors on August 31, 2025, and running through March 29, 2026, the exhibition celebrates the centennial anniversary of the Art Deco movement, showcasing 100 rare and iconic posters from the esteemed William W. Crouse Collection. This showcase offers a vibrant glimpse into the dynamism, luxury, and forward-thinking spirit that defined the 1920s and 1930s.
Art Deco, a style that emerged in France just before World War I and flourished internationally, represents a significant departure from the organic forms of Art Nouveau, embracing instead a bold, modern aesthetic characterized by geometric shapes, clean lines, and a sense of streamlined elegance. The movement’s influence permeated architecture, fashion, interior design, and, crucially, graphic design and advertising. This exhibition highlights Art Deco’s profound impact on the latter, presenting printed graphic posters as a revolutionary medium that captured the essence of modernity and progress.
A Journey Through Advertising’s Evolution
The exhibition delves into the transformative power of early graphic posters, which served as the primary visual medium for advertising before the advent of television and digital media. Curated by Rangsook Yoon, senior curator at Sarasota Art Museum, the collection emphasizes how these posters seduced viewers with eye-catching designs, selling not just products but aspirations, desires, and the vision of a modern lifestyle. “Before the age of television and digital media, printed graphic posters seduced viewers with eye-catching advertisements,” Yoon notes. “These posters offered images of longed-for convenience, indulgent tastes, novel entertainments and solutions to troubles consumers never knew they had. They were selling desires, serving as visual billboards of what living modernity would look like.”
The featured posters, primarily from the 1920s and 1930s, span a wide range of subjects, from automobiles, airlines, and ocean liners to consumer goods like drinks and tobacco. They are testaments to the era’s fascination with speed, technological advancement, and a more accessible, glamorous lifestyle. The exhibition includes works by a distinguished roster of artists, including Lester Beall, Leonetto Cappiello, Jean Carlu, A. M. Cassandre, Paul Colin, Austin Cooper, Jules Courvoisier, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Charles Loupot, Leo Marfurt, Gert Sellheim, Federico Seneca, and Roger de Valerio.
Masterpieces from the Crouse Collection
The William W. Crouse Collection, considered one of the most important private collections of Art Deco posters globally, forms the core of this exhibition. Bill and Elaine Crouse, who have collected Art Deco objects for over 40 years, have lent pieces that continue to impress with their timeless, sleek, and streamlined designs, often appearing remarkably modern despite their age. The collection even includes sculptures and vintage cocktail shakers that evoke the Roaring Twenties ambiance, alongside Art Deco furniture pieces generously loaned from The Wolfsonian Museum at Florida International University in Miami.
Renowned artists like A. M. Cassandre, a pioneer in French graphic design, are prominently featured. Cassandre, known for his bold typography and integration of graphic elements, captured the spirit of modernity and speed in his works, such as “L’Intransigeant” and “Normandie: Voyage Inaugural”. Roger de Valerio, another featured artist, contributes iconic imagery like his 1930 lithograph “Chrysler”. These works exemplify the era’s embrace of industrial progress and its influence on popular culture and design.
Art Deco’s Enduring Cultural Impact
The Art Deco movement, officially recognized after the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, championed a style that symbolized luxury, glamour, and faith in progress. It emerged as a vibrant response to the post-World War I era, blending diverse influences from Cubism and Futurism to ancient Egyptian art and the popular Ballets Russes. The style’s emphasis on geometric shapes, rich materials, and bold colors left an indelible mark on visual culture.
The Sarasota Art Museum, itself housed in a historic building that blends Collegiate Gothic architecture with a mid-century modern addition, serves as an ideal venue to explore this significant artistic period. As Sarasota’s only museum dedicated to contemporary art, it continually seeks to amplify the city’s creative spirit through thought-provoking exhibitions. “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration” not only celebrates a centennial of a beloved design movement but also provides a crucial lens through which to view the evolution of graphic design, illustration, and the enduring power of visual culture in shaping public perception and desires. The exhibition is poised to be a significant cultural event, drawing attention to the lasting legacy of Art Deco’s sophisticated style and its influence that continues to trend in design today.
The exhibition is supported by Platinum Sponsors Judy and Fred Fiala, Gold Sponsors Carole Crosby and Larry Wickless, Silver Sponsor Karl Copas, and community partners including the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, TDT, Sarasota Magazine, and WUSF NPR. These contributions underscore the community’s appreciation for this significant cultural showcase.
