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This course examines the varied national manifestations of Modernist ideals, exploring their synergies and diversities, and locating them within their social and economic context.

As the new century unfolded and developments in technology and industry advanced, the search for an approach which reflected and absorbed these dramatic changes became paramount, leading to the emergence of modernist theory and form which were to shape the rest of the century. Although united in the rejection of overt historical reference and superfluous ornamentation, Modernism between 1918 and 1939 adopted different guises in different countries, from the pure functionalism of Germany, to the more luxurious French Art Deco style, to the adoption of streamlining in America.  Modern design was viewed as avant-garde taste and the market for this work, both at the time and subsequently, forms a distinctive aspect of the course, fully integrated into the discussion of each topic and designer.

The Details
  • Course Dates & Fees

    Course Dates & Fees

    April 6 - 29, 2021

    Tuesdays and Thursdays
    6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. GMT
    (1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT)
    Course Fee: £595
    All online Intensive Courses are developed in London by Sotheby's Institute faculty, programming staff, and industry experts.
  • How It Works

    How It Works

    Our online Intensive Courses are designed to enrich and deepen your understanding of a specific art world subject in an accelerated and dynamic format. The courses are ideal for undergraduates, career changers, art professionals, and art lovers seeking to learn more about art and cultural history or to acquire specific knowledge/skills.
    Led by art professionals drawn from our global faculty, these courses provide participants with expert insight and practical skills through a combination of livestreamed lectures and group discussion. Course materials and lecture recordings can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via Sotheby’s Institute’s learning platform – Canvas. Canvas is an intuitive, self-contained environment that requires no additional software.
    Once you successfully complete the course, you will receive a verified Certificate of Completion from Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Our digital certificates allow you to share new skills with various social media platforms, including LinkedIn.
  • Who Is This Course For?

    Who Is This Course For?

    This new course is designed for anyone interested in understanding the evolution, ideas, and aesthetic language of Modernism as it developed in Europe and America between 1910 and 1939. It will appeal particularly to those interested in pursuing or already engaged in the design world, whether as interior designers, collectors, or dealers, and to those curious about the objects which surround us. All levels of knowledge and experience are warmly welcome.
  • Sample Topics

    Sample Topics


    • Art into Production

    • The Bauhaus

    • French Art Deco & French Modernism

    • Scandinavian design

    • USA & Streamlining

    • Reluctant Modernism: Great Britain

    • Collecting Modernist Design

  • Faculty

    Faculty

    Elisabeth Bogdan
    Faculty & Subject Leader: History of Design, Decorative Art and Design, London
    MA History of Design, Royal College of Art, London
    PG Certificate, Higher Education Management, University of London
    BA Historical Geography, University of Toronto
    Lis Bogdan has been a lecturer in decorative art and design history at the Institute since 2003. She has taught in the visual arts and on art world education since 1992 at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, previously at Southampton Solent University, Oxford Brookes University and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. Her specialist teaching includes eighteenth to twentieth century European and American design, decorative art and architectural history. Additional to leading the Decorative Art and Design semester course, she teaches on the MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design and on summer short courses. She has published in the decorative arts, particularly for the Decorative Arts Society, the Design History Society and Phaidon Press. She is a contributor to courses at the V&A, is a former Trustee of the Design History Society and is a decorative art and design consultant for a Canadian valuation firm.
    AND
    Elisabeth Darby
    Consultant Lecturer, MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design
    PhD and MA, Courtauld Institute
    BA (Hons), Leeds University
    Lis Darby's research and teaching focuses on 19th, 20th and 21st century decorative arts, design and craft, with particular emphasis on furniture. She developed and was Programme Director of the MA in Contemporary Design at Sotheby's Institute in London from 2008 to 2016 and now teaches on the MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design, for various semester courses and public programmes, and also runs the MA elective Contemporary Design and its Markets. Her research and specialist areas also includes late-18th to early-20th century sculpture. Lis is Visiting Researcher and PhD supervisor at Central St. Martins (University of the Arts London) and lectures regularly at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She has contributed to various publications and journals on both sculpture and the decorative arts and is currently writing a book on contemporary design for Lund Humphries.
  • Register

    Register

    Click here to register.


    This course is listed under the Intensive Course option in the online application. Online Intensive Courses are open to anyone 18 years of age and older. Registration takes approximately 5 minutes to complete.
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    Questions? Contact us at online@sia.edu.