22 September 2013 - 19 January 2014

Mint Museum Uptown

Left:  Coupe de Rivoli, circa 1867. Sevre Porcelain Manufactory, France. Above: Zaire Centerpiece Bowl, 1930. Delheid Frères, Belgium.

Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs 1851-1939 is a groundbreaking, international loan exhibition that presents outstanding examples of glass, furniture, jewelry, ceramics, precious metalwork, and textiles displayed at the world’s fairs between The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in London in 1851 and the New York World’s Fair in 1939.  Many of these objects have never before left their respective institutions.

World’s fairs were the most important vehicles for debuting advancements in modern living.  Some fairs were broad in scope, displaying decorative arts alongside paintings, sculpture, industrial design and agricultural products; others concentrated on exhibiting decorative arts alone.  Both types of expositions functioned as showcases and marketplaces for design. Above all, they democratized design, exposing countless visitors and others to the latest artistic and technological achievements of their time.

Inventing the Modern World comprises approximately 200 objects shown at every major world’s fair from 1851 to 1939. Large and small in scale, these seminal objects are culled from private and public collections, primarily in America and Europe. Among the many lenders are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum für angewandte Kunst in Vienna, the Kunstindustrimuseet in Copenhagen, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. - Brian Gallagher, Curator of Decorative Arts

Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851 – 1939 is co-organized by Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.  Major support for this exhibition is provided by Wells Fargo, the Windgate Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibition is brought to Charlotte through generous support from Duke Energy, Novant Health, and the Southern Christmas Show.. Learning and Engagement programming for Inventing the World is generously underwritten by the Mint Museum Auxiliary.

Online and Print Resources

Additional Information on the "Inventing the Modern World" Exhibition

• The Nelson-Atkins Museum's special exhibition mini-site, including a behind-the-scenes video
• Exhibition page from Carnegie Museum of Art 
• Article on the exhibition opening at Nelson-Atkins from ArtDaily 
• Watch a YouTube video for the show
• Decorative Arts Glossary - for definitions and pronunciations of terms used in the exhibition
• "Possibility and Hope Under One Big Roof" article on World's Fairs from The New York Times 
• Review of the exhibition from the Wall Street Journal 
• Detailed article on compiling the objects for the exhibit from the Lincoln Journal Star 
• Busch, Jason T. and Catherine L. Futter.  Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World's Fairs 1851-1939. New York: Skira Rizzoli Publications, 2012. The catalog of the exhibition.

Overview of 1851-1939 World's Fairs

• History, timelines and profiles of each fair from the ExpoMuseum 
• The World's Fair and Exposition Information and Reference Guide - Each fair has its own page with fair statistics (attendance, cost, etc.), trivia, links and a list of books. 
• Post on the evolving significance of the recent World's Fairs from Core 77
• Teacher resources on 3 of the US-hosted World's Fairs: 1876 Centennial Exposition, 1893 Columbian Exposition, and the 1895 Cotton States Exposition from University of Houston's Digital History 
• History of the Paris World's Fairs held in 1855, 1867, 1878, 1889 and 1900 from Brown University Library
• A Brief History of World's Fairs through Photos from Time  
• Learn more about the fairs from these Mint Museum Library print resources:  
• Friebe, Wolfgang.  Buildings of the World Exhibitions.  [Leipzig ]: Edition Leipzig, 1985. 
•  Greenhalgh, Paul. Fair World: a Hstory of World's Fairs and Expositions, from London to Shanghai, 1851-2010. Winterbourne, Berkshire, UK: Papadakis, 2011 
• Meyer, Jonathan. Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia 1851-1900. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collector's Club, 2006. 

London 1851 -  Vienna 1873 

• Drawings and images of the 1851 Great Exposition from Vanderbilt University
• Research paper and several images on the 1851 Great Exposition from Stanford University
• Information on the 1851 Great Exposition from Expo2000
• Gibbs, Smith. The Great Exhibition of 1851.  London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964.
• 1852 article about the upcoming 1853 Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations from The New York Times 
• Detailed history of New York's Crystal Palace constructed for the 1853 Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations from the Libraries at the University of Maryland
• Information on the building used for the 1862 International Exhibition in London from the Royal Institute of British Architects  
• Article on the differences between the 1851 and 1862 exhibitions with 1862 newspaper excerpts from The Victorianist
• Detailed history of the 1862 London Exhibition from McGee Flutes 
• Notes and Sketches of the Paris Exhibition by George Augustus Sala - ebook of the 1868 publication of the English journalist's visit to the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle from OpenLibrary.org 
• Arthur Beckwith's  Observations on the pottery at the 1871 London Great Exhibition
• Guide with map and sketches of the 1873 Vienna fair from the National Diet Library in Japan

Philadelphia 1876 - Brussels 1897

• Contents from a souvenir album of the Philadelphia World's Fair of 1876 with a map and exhibition panorama from National Gallery of Art's Photographic Archives Collection
• Facts and timeline on the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia from Free Library of Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition Digital Collection 
• Article exploring several of the highlights from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition from Assembly Mag 
• Glimpse at the album guide for Exposition Universelle 1878 in Paris from Rare Book Collections at Princeton 
• Historic photographs from the 1889 World's Fair in Paris from National Gallery of Art's Photographic Archives Collection  
• A complete online version of the Cosmopolitan Magazine's 1893 issue focusing on that year's World's Fair from OpenLibrary.org
• Extensive educational site from UCLA using the 1893 Columbian Exposition for 9-12 grade Social Studies.  
• View visual simulation videos and static model images of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago from the Urban Simulation Team at UCLA
• New York Time's Edward Rothstein, "Assessing a Future from 120 Years Ago: Field Museum looks back at Chicago's World's Fair" 
• Research article on the history of the 1893 Columbian Exposition from University of Virginia's American Studies Department 
• Learn more about these fairs from the Mint Museum Library's print resources:  
• Art and Handicraft in the Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. Paris; New York: Boussod, Valadon, 1893.
• McCabe, James Dabney. The Illustrated History of the Centennial Exhibition Held in Commemoration ofthe One Hundredth Anniversary of American Independence . . .  Philadelphia: The National Publishing Company, 1975.
• The Quest for Unity: American Art between World's Fairs, 1876-1893. Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1983.   

1900 Paris Exposition Universelle

• Historic photographs of the Fair from National Gallery of Art's Photographic Archives Collection 
• Resources, especially relating to "Exhibit of American Negroes," from WEBDuBois.org 
• Brief overview from University of Miami 
• Detailed information on Art Nouveau at the Exposition from Antique Jewelry University 
• Panoramic one-minute film of the Palace of Electricity by Thomas Edison on YouTube 
• Jullian, Philippe. The Triumph of Art Nouveau: Paris Exhibition, 1900. New York: Larousse, 1974.

Turin 1902 - New York 1939

• Overview of the 1902 Turin exhibition from Disseny Hub Barcelona 
• Download footage of the opening ceremonies of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis from Library of Congress
• Detailed info on the 1904 World's Fair from Missouri Historical Society
• Virtual tour of the 1904 World's Fair from Collector's Marketing Resource Center
• Guide for the 1904 World's Fair exploring several of the exhibits from Bill and Ken's Buffet Flat 
• Information on the 1915 San Francisco Fair from the Museum of American Heritage 
• Detailed guide to the 1915 World's Fair from San Francisco Memories 
• Short documentary on the 1915 World's Fair from PBS 
• Audio cast on the 1925 Paris Esposition Internationale from the National Gallery of Victoria
• Art Deco and the 1925 Paris Exhibition from the V&A 
• Watch 16mm home movie coverage of Chicago's 1933 World's Fair from Chicago Film Archives 
• Silent film footage of the 1937 Paris Exposition Internationale from the Prelinger Archives
• Information and images of San Francisco's 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition from Found SF   
• Short video about the exhaustive archives of 1939 New York World's Fair at the New York Public Library (and the insights it provides)
• Microsite exploring the social, cultural and commercial impact of the 1939 New York World's Fair from the University of Virginia
• Learn more about these fairs from the Mint Museum Library's print resources: 
• Brunhammer, Yvonne. 1925. Paris: Les Presses de la Connaissance, 1976.
• A Century of Progress Homes and Furnishings. Chicago: M.A. Ring Co., 1934. 
• Le Corbusier. . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987 
• Exposition internationale des arts decoratifs et industriels modernes. Ensembles Mobiliers. Paris: Moreau, 1925.
• Scarlett, Frank. Arts Decoratifs 1925: a Personal Recollection of the Paris Exhibition. London: Academy Editions; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1975. 
• Swedish Arts and Crafts: Swedish Modern - a Movement Towards Sanity in Design.  [New York] : The Royal Swedish Commission, New York World's Fair, 1939.
• Wurts, Richard. The New York World's Fair, 1939/1940 in 155 photographs. New York: Dover Publications, 1977. 

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Created by Nicole Jacobson, volunteer for the Mint Museum Library.