‘American Streamlined Design: The World Of Tomorrow’

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

:American industrial design has long been popular with collectors, yet scholarship has seemingly lagged behind. Streamlining, an influential style during the 1930s, has been the subject of a few books and exhibitions, yet it is only now that just tribute has been paid to all the furnishings and appliances that made that decade, stylistically speaking, such a wonderful time.

"American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow," the first major survey exhibition devoted to the subject, is on view at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal (MMFA) through October 28.

The show comprises an exquisite selection of iconic items from the private collection of New York businessman Eric Brill, who recently donated more than 750 pieces to the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection at the MMFA. Curated by David A. Hanks and Dr Martin Eidelberg, the show has been termed "the most comprehensive exhibition ever mounted on the subject."

Brill's gift as a collector is also evident in the fully researched and clearly illustrated catalog. It says something about his perseverance that he was able to acquire so many objects made for daily use that remain in virtually unused condition.

The emergence of streamlining was influenced by the Great Depression. At a time when up to one-fourth of the population was out of work, it took some ingenuity to persuade Americans to part with their precious dollars. One way was to manufacture useful, high-quality products. Another was to encase those products in a style that was bright, novel and optimistic.

If any style can be called optimistic, it is streamline. In the streamlined interior, everything seemed to be in motion — everything, that is, except the person who was effortlessly using all those rocket siphon bottles, zeppelin potato bakers and boat-shaped roasting pans. The most mundane objects were infused with dynamism. In a stagnating economy, it helped to have at least the illusion of moving forward.

And then there were the colors. Fiesta ware, introduced in the 1930s, is one of the most enduringly popular products, thanks to its cheerful colors. The pitchers, circa 1936, have a curved form and decorative concentric rings. The round body contrasts with the abruptly flat bottom and the thick, sculptural spout.