American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen explained

The American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen (AUDAC) was an American society of designers and decorative artists that was active from 1928 until the early 1930s. The group aimed to bring modern principles of design, such as those promoted in Europe by the Wiener Werkstätte and the Bauhaus, to decorative arts in the United States.

History

The modernist furniture designer Paul T. Frankl immigrated from Vienna to New York in 1914.^[1] He worked to establish Europe's flourishing principles of contemporary design in the United States by writing books such as New Dimensions: The Decorative Arts of Today ^[2] and by establishing a collective of fellow designers called the American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen (AUDAC) in 1928.^[3] Early members included designers who exhibited at the American Designers' Gallery, which showed interiors and furnishings designed by contemporary New York designers, such as Donald Deskey and Ilonka Karasz.^[4]

AUDAC was modeled on European decorative arts societies such as the Société des Artistes Décorateurs in France. They published books on the new American design such as Modern American Design^[5] and Annual of American Design^[6] and put together influential exhibitions of their members' work, including one at the Brooklyn Museum in 1931 which showed work by Russel Wright, Ruth Reeves, and Rockwell Kent among many others.^[7]

The group was well known by the early 1930s when Radio City Music Hall commissioned Donald Deskey and other AUDAC members to design the fabrics, textiles, and furnishings for the interior.^{[8] [9]} Many members (see list below) went on to long careers and well-known places in the history of twentieth-century design. However, due to the 1930s economic depression, the formal association was defunct by 1934.^[10]

Mission

AUDAC placed an ad in a supplement for the magazine Creative Art in March 1930^[11] which listed contact information for many of its members and described the mission of the American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen thus:

Members

AUDAC was founded by Paul T. Frankl in 1928. Their members included:

• M. F. Agha
• Richard F. Bach
• Lucian Bernhard
• M. D. C. Crawford
• Donald Deskey
• Alice Donaldson
• Hugh Ferriss
• Norman Bel Geddes
• C. Adolph Glassgold
• Wolfgang and Pola Hoffmann
• Ellen M. Kern
• Frederick John Kiesler
• Peter Larsen
• Robert Leonard
• Marguerita Mergentime
• Lewis Mumford
• Ruth Reeves
• Winold Reiss
• Robert Schey
• Lee Simonson
• Edward Steichen
• Edward Buk Ulreich
• Kem Weber
• Frank Lloyd Wright
• Russel Wright
• Paul M. Zimmermann

Sources

• Book: American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen, Robert L. Leonard, and C. Adolph Glassgold. Modern American Design . 1933. New York, Ives Washburn. 1251649 .
• Book: Byars, Mel, "What Makes American Design American" (intro. to facsimile). American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen, Robert L. Leonard, and C. Adolph Glassgold . Modern American Design facsimile edition. 1992. Acanthus Press. 9780926494015 . 759683655.
• "American Union of Decorative Artist and Craftsmen" in Byars, Mel (2004). The Design Encyclopedia, New York: The Museum of Modern Art. |
• Book: American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen. Annual of American Design . 1931. New York, Ives Washburn. 1251637 .
• Web site: Crosse . John . Foundations of Los Angeles Modernism: Richard Neutra's Mod Squad . Southern California Architectural History . 2010. 2018-04-10.
• Book: Frankl, Paul Theodore . 1928 . New Dimensions: The Decorative Arts of Today in Words and Pictures . New York, Payson Clarke. 299341249 .
• Web site: Design, 1925-50. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . 2018. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2018-04-10.
• Web site: RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission . 1978 . 2018-04-10.
• Susswein . Rita . Whitehead . Philip . 1931 . The AUDAC Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum . 770529 . Parnassus . 3 . 5 . 14–15 . 10.2307/770529 . 193025651 .
• Book: Wilson, Richard Guy. Wilson. Art Deco in the USA . Grove Art Online. 2015. Oxford University Press . 10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2283819.
• Book: Woodham, Jonathan M. . A Dictionary of Modern Design . http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800978.001.0001/acref-9780192800978-e-28 . American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen . Oxford University Press . 2016 . 9780191726767 . 2018-04-06 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Wilson, Richard Guy. Wilson. Art Deco in the USA . Grove Art Online. 2015. Oxford University Press . 10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2283819.
2. Book: Frankl, Paul Theodore . 1928 . New Dimensions: The Decorative Arts of Today in Words and Pictures . New York, Payson Clarke. 299341249 .
3. Book: Wilson, Richard Guy. Wilson. Art Deco in the USA . Grove Art Online. 2015. Oxford University Press . 10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2283819.
4. Web site: Design, 1925-50. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . 2018. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2018-04-10.
5. • Book: American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen, Robert L. Leonard, and C. Adolph Glassgold. Modern American Design . 1933. New York, Ives Washburn. 1251649.
6. Book: American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen. Annual of American Design . 1931. New York, Ives Washburn. 1251637.
7. • Susswein . Rita . Whitehead . Philip . 1931 . The AUDAC Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum . 770529 . Parnassus . 3 . 5 . 14–15 . 10.2307/770529 . 193025651 .
8. Web site: 2023-07-18 . Illuminated Design to Blend Aesthetics and Technology for Residential Lighting Programs . 2024-01-17 . en-US.
9. • Web site: RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission . 1978 . 2018-04-10.
10. • Book: Woodham, Jonathan M. . A Dictionary of Modern Design . http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800978.001.0001/acref-9780192800978-e-28 . American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen . Oxford University Press . 2016 . 9780191726767 . 2018-04-06 .
11. • Web site: Foundations of Los Angeles Modernism: Richard Neutra's Mod Squad . Southern California Architectural History . Crosse . John . 2010. 2018-04-10.