All text reproduced from World's Fair magazine, Volume VIII, Number 3, Copyright 1988, World's Fair, Inc.
Expanded and revised version January 2000, by Arthur Chandler.

Was the Art Deco exposition a success? If the main point was to show that a new decorative style could be formed without reliance on tradition, the exposition achieved its goal. Countless talents from many countries showed what could be done without turning to the Greco-Roman tradition in art and craft. The Art Deco style was born; and, though America did not participate directly in the fair, the influence of this style would be strongly felt across the country for the next 20 years. The Treasure Island Fair, held in San Francisco in 1939-40, was America's own version of the 1925 Paris Exposition. In an important sense, the battle begun with Eiffel concluded: modern themes and modern methods and materials could and should generate their own style, symbolizing a twentieth-century world view.

Then there was the whole question of Art Deco as an international style. The French had hoped that, in drawing the world to Paris for the exposition, France would emerge from her "commercial Sudan" as the leader in the new style of architecture, interior design, and fashion. But all the buildings (except for those of Le Corbusier and Melnikov) and their contents were intensely regional or national in their approach to decorative art. It was clear that no matter how clever or tasteful the work of French artists, each country would go its own way with the Art Deco style. France would be a participant, but not a leader.

It remained for the Russians to give the world the final, defiant gesture of internationalism in the face of Art Deco. At the closing ceremonies of the exhibition in October, 1925, Russia's flag stood with all the rest atop the poles surrounding the speaker's platform. Slowly, solemnly, the flags were lowered together, signifying the official end of the exposition. But as the banners were lowered, one remained, triumphantly waving above the rest. The Russians had refused to lower their flag. "We alone carry on the revolutionary spirit," asserts this gesture. The audience and officials were outraged. But what could they do? The hammer and sickle remained aloft as the crowds drifted away back into the summer streets of Paris. Only much later, after the exposition officially closed its doors, did the Russians lower their flag in triumph.

Opening Date: April 25, 1925

Closing Date: October 25, 1925

Size of Site: 72 acres

Official Paid Attendance: 15,019,000

Exhibitors: 15,000+

Expenses (estimated): 80,480,000 francs

Receipts (estimated): 95,180,000 francs

Profit to Government (estimated): 14,700,000 francs

Top Officials: Fernand David, Commissioner General

Paul Léon, Director of Fine Arts

Encyclopédie des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes au XXème siècle en douze volumes (Paris, 1928, 12 volumes)

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Géraldy, Paul. L’Atrchitecture Vivante," in L'Illustration, June, 1925

Paris, W. Francklyn. "The International Exposition of Modern Industrial Art in Paris," in Architectural Record, September and October, 1925

Rambosson, Yvanhoé. "L’Evolution de l’art moderne," in L'Illustration, June, 1925

Roux-Spitz, M. Exposition des arts décoratifs, Paris, 1925: Bâtiments et Jardins (Paris, 1925)

Scarlett, Frank andTownley, Marjorie. Arts Décoratifs: A Personal Recollection of the Paris Exhibition (London, 1975)