The Sarasota Art Museum will open an exhibition titled "Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration" on August 31, featuring 100 rare fine art advertisement posters from the 1920s and '30s. The posters, created by early master graphic designers such as A. M. Cassandre and Leonetto Cappiello, are drawn from the Crouse Collection, considered the most significant private collection of its kind. The exhibition also includes sculptural works, cocktail shakers, and Art Deco furniture on loan from the Wolfsonian Museum at Florida International University.
The exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of the Art Deco movement, which debuted at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. These posters were originally printed on inexpensive paper and meant to be temporary, making their survival rare. The show highlights Art Deco's lasting influence on modern design, including fonts, architecture, furniture, and jewelry, and underscores how the movement paved the way for modernism and contemporary art.