Burgh Island is widely regarded as one of the foremost places to see and experience Art Deco in Europe. Art Deco is an influential visual arts design style that takes its name from the important ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes’ which took place in Paris in 1925. It became popular across the globe in the 1920s and 30s. Arts Decoratifs became more commonly referred to as Art Deco.
As a design style, Art Deco represented a rejection of the organic, sensuous motifs of pre-War Art Nouveau in favour of clean lines and ‘modern’, often bright, colours. It was largely made possible by new manufacturing techniques and increased access of the new middle class to luxury goods. The boom in cinema audiences spread the message across the globe that glamorous living was accessible and had arrived.