Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism

Exhibition
Postcard No. 10 from Le Style Guimard series, “Hector Guimard in His Workroom at Castel Béranger,” 1903; Black ink, brush, watercolor on sepia paper; 8.9 x 13.9 cm (3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of Madame Pejol, 1958-84-1; Photo: Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution

Postcard No. 10 from Le Style Guimard series, “Hector Guimard in His Workroom at Castel Béranger,” 1903; Black ink, brush, watercolor on sepia paper; 8.9 x 13.9 cm (3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of Madame Pejol, 1958-8

Richard H. Driehaus Museum
40 East Erie Street
Chicago, US 60611
June 22 - November 5, 2023
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France's Most Important Art Nouveau Architect Takes Center Stage at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago!

The Richard H. Driehaus Museum presents Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism, an exhibition exploring the life and work of Hector Guimard (1867-1942), the French architect and designer whose name is synonymous with the French Art Nouveau movement. Bringing together approximately 100 works including furniture, jewelry, metalwork, ceramics, drawings, and textiles from collections worldwide, Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism is the first major American museum exhibition devoted to Guimard since the retrospective organized by the Museum of Modern Art in 1970.  The exhibition will run until November 5, 2023.

Hector Guimard is best-known for his designs for the Paris Métro, which are so emblematic of the French Art Nouveau style that it was sometimes referred to as “le style Métro.” Representing a radical break from the classical and revival styles of the nineteenth century, Art Nouveau embraced natural forms while integrating architecture with the decorative and fine arts. Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism explores Guimard’s commitment to sharing beautiful, sensuous, accessible designs for both civic architecture and everyday objects with a wide audience, as well as Guimard’s modern entrepreneurial approach to promoting his work through Le Style Guimard branding and his use of mass-production technologies. The show also explores the critical role played by his wife and collaborator Adeline Oppenheim Guimard, presenting new scholarship that underscores her critical role as her husband’s creative partner during his lifetime and ardent steward of his legacy.