Art Deco Delights: NYC Events Evocative of the 1920s & ’30s

By Troy Segal

Who doesn’t love Art Deco, that streamlined-yet-sexy style that dominated the decades before World War II? Here are some New York City screenings, talks, and tours that conjure up the era when it reigned, heralding the birth of the modern world.

Feats of Architecture and Engineering: New York City boomed in the 1920s, so it’s not surprising that a passel of structures around town embody the Art Deco style. On Sept. 28, there’s an afternoon-long bus tour of Queens Deco Treasures — from the Marine Air Terminal to the Astoria Pool and Play Center — sponsored by the Art Deco Society… Take to the seas on a virtual trip of the Queen Mary (above), the most luxe of the luxury ocean liners, a form of travel that proved getting there was half the fun; this presentation sets sails at the Museum of the City of New York, Oct. 1.

Fine and Decorative Arts: He’s best-known for his pictures of the Wild West, but Thomas Hart Benton’s massive mural America Today (above), painted in 1930-1, captures the Jazz Age in all its frenetic glory; Metropolitan Museum of Art curators give guided tours of the 10-paneled panorama on Oct. 3, 26 and Nov. 22… Study the drawings and designs of three pre-World War I French architects — Henri Sauvage, Auguste Perret, and Robert Mallet-Stevens — whose groundbreaking buildings offered early examples of le style moderne in this illustrated lecture, co-sponsored by the Beaux Arts Alliance and the Art Deco Society, Nov. 17.

Ladies of Style and Substance: The 1920s and ‘30s could be called the Era of Designing Women, as so many of the major couturiers were femmes. One of the most original was Elsa Schiaparelli; biographer Meryle Secrest relates the scandalous stories behind the stiches of her colorful life and designs, Oct. 14, at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology… Female entrepreneurs also dominated the cosmetics industry, rapidly expanding as wearing makeup became standard among ordinary folk. Two major beauty queens, Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, are profiled in a screening of the punningly-named The Powder and the Glory, followed by a Q-&-A with the documentary’s directors, Dec. 4 at The Jewish Museum.

Movie Madness: It was the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the Film Forum is screening the best work of one the titans of the talkies, director Frank Capra — from famed screwball comedies like It Happened One Night to lesser-known gems like Platinum Blonde, Oct. 10-23. Behind the glam onscreen, however, there were often dark doings: In 1922, Hollywood was rocked by the murder of dapper director and ladies’ man William Desmond Taylor. Whodunit? Suspects at the time ranged from starlets to valets, but now the mystery is finally solved, at this 92nd Street Y lecture, Oct. 21.