In the years after World War I, Paris once again became a crossroads for artists from around the world. Many sought new forms of classicism, looking for ways to connect the shaky present to solid foundations of the past. Fernand Léger turned to the sleek mechanical parts and mass-produced objects of modern industry for inspiration, believing that art and machines together could remake the world. “The object is everywhere in contemporary life,” he declared in 1925, reflecting his fascination with machine-made things. Pablo Picasso, conversely, proposed a different type of modern classicism grounded in his own prewar Cubism. Still others, like designer Eileen Gray, created works that embody the rich crossover between “*style moderne*” (the predominant decorative style of the 1920s and 1930s), austere geometric modularity, and luxury craft.
Collection 1880s–1940s
514
Paris 1920s
514
Paris 1920s
- MoMA, Floor 5, 514 The David Geffen Wing
-
Tarsila do Amaral The Moon 1928 -
Constantin Brâncuși Blond Negress II Paris 1933 (after a marble of 1928) -
Stuart Davis Salt Shaker 1931 -
Eileen Gray Screen 1922 -
Florence Henri Composition No. 76 1928 -
Germaine Krull Rails c. 1927 -
Fernand Léger Costume design for the ballet Skating Rink 1922 -
Fernand Léger Three Women 1921-22 -
Fernand Léger Compass and Paint Tubes 1926 -
Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky) Chess Set 1920–1926 -
Gerald Murphy Wasp and Pear 1929 -
Pablo Picasso Three Musicians Fontainebleau, summer 1921 -
Pablo Picasso The Studio Paris, winter 1927-28
Artists
-
Tarsila do Amaral
Brazilian, 1886–19732 exhibitions, 2 works online -
Constantin Brâncuși
Romanian and French, born Romania. 1876–195790 exhibitions, 33 works online -
Stuart Davis
American, 1892–196471 exhibitions, 26 works online -
Eileen Gray
Anglo-Irish, 1879–197610 exhibitions, 8 works online -
Florence Henri
Swiss, born United States. 1893–198212 exhibitions, 12 works online - There are 10 artists in this collection gallery online.
Installation images
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.
If you notice an error, please contact us at [email protected].
If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA’s collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).
All requests to license audio or video footage produced by MoMA should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills or motion picture footage from films in MoMA’s Film Collection cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For licensing motion picture film footage it is advised to apply directly to the copyright holders. For access to motion picture film stills please contact the Film Study Center. More information is also available about the film collection and the Circulating Film and Video Library.
If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication or moma.org, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA’s archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to [email protected].