Art & Statues
Art Deco City: The World's Most Beautiful Buildings by Arnold Schwartzman
Art Deco City: The World's Most Beautiful Buildings by Arnold Schwartzman
A stunning hardcover survey of Art Deco architecture from across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, photographed and written by Arnold Schwartzman. Published in 2018 with 224 pages of color images, this book captures the movement's landmark buildings along with the smaller details, mosaics, ironwork, and signage that defined the style.
Art Deco City brings together decades of photography from Arnold Schwartzman, an Oscar winning filmmaker and graphic designer who has spent much of his career documenting Art Deco architecture around the world. The book moves through cities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, pairing full building facades with close up shots of the ornamental features that often go unnoticed. Mosaics, murals, decorative tile work, and sculpted architectural details all get their own moment on the page, giving readers a sense of the craftsmanship behind these structures rather than just their silhouettes.
Schwartzman's approach favors the overlooked over the obvious. Rather than only photographing the most famous landmarks, he seeks out smaller buildings and hidden details, from banks and cinemas to apartment blocks and factories, that carried the Art Deco style into everyday life. The layout gives each subject room to breathe, often spreading a single image across two pages so the geometry and texture of the architecture can be fully appreciated. The result is a book that works equally well as a visual reference and as something to page through purely for pleasure.
Schwartzman has spent much of his career working in film and design. He served as Director of Design for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and has designed graphic elements for the Academy Awards over many years. His long running interest in Art Deco has produced several photographic books on the subject, including London Art Deco and Miami Art Deco, with Art Deco City standing as one of the most wide ranging entries in that body of work.
This copy is in like new condition with no signs of wear. It would suit anyone building a library on twentieth century design, as well as collectors who want a visual companion to furniture, ceramics, and decorative objects from the period. The scale and photography also make it a natural coffee table book for a living room or study with an Art Deco theme.
