
Decorative metalwork designed in the Art Deco style by
Maurice Ascalon and manufactured by the Pal-Bell Company during the 1940s.
The 'decorative arts' are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in
ceramic,
wood,
glass,
metal, or
textile. The field includes
ceramics,
furniture, furnishings,
interior design, and
architecture. The decorative arts are often categorized in opposition to the "
fine arts", namely,
painting,
drawing,
photography, and large-scale
sculpture. Some distinguish between decorative and fine art based on functionality, intended purpose, importance, status as a unique creation, or single-artist production. Decorative arts, or furnishings, may be fixed (for example, wallpaper), or moveable (for example, lamps).
See also
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American craft
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Applied art
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Arts and crafts
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Craft
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History of decorative art
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Mosaic
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Ornament (architecture)
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Faux Painting
Selected bibliography
★ Fiell, Charlotte and Peter, eds. ''Decorative Art Yearbook'' (one for each decade of the 20th century). Translated. Bonn: Taschen, 2000.
★ Fleming, John and Hugh Honour. ''Dictionary of the Decorative Arts''. New York: Harper and Row, 1977.
★ Frank, Isabelle. ''The Theory of Decorative Art: An Anthology of European and American Writings, 1750–1940''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000.
★ Thornton, Peter. ''Authentic Decor: Domestic Interior, 1620–1920''. London: Seven Dials, 2000.
External links
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Decorating with Art, Antiques and Collectibles
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Victoria and Albert Museum
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Argentine Decorative Art Museum
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The Bard Graduate Center (BGC) for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture
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Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
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Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture - electronic resources
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Metropolitan Museum of Art American decorative arts collection
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National Gallery of Art decorative arts collection
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Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, Milan, Italy