# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Salomé (1922) ⭐ 6.6 | Biography, Drama, History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Spanning the boom of the roaring 1920s through to the bust of the Depression-ridden 1930s, Art Deco drew on timeworn traditions while simultaneously celebrating the modern, mechanised world. This extraordinary blend of tradition and progress, combined with a lively eclecticism, is found throughout the V&A's Art Deco objects.

The Art Deco objects in the V&A collections span furnishings, ceramics, glassware, metalwork, fabrics, prints and fashion. Decorative elegance and exquisite craftsmanship is displayed through the works of Clarice Cliff, Frank Lloyd Wright, Rene Lalique, Emile-Jaques Ruhlmann and Jeanne Lanvin, providing lively insight into the development of one of the world's first truly global design movements.

Header image:

Background image: Frieze panel, designed by Walter Gilbert, made by Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Art, 1933, England. Museum no. M.262-1984. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London Frieze panel (detail), designed by Walter Gilbert, made by Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Art, 1933, England. Museum no. M.262-1984. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Art Deco - Explore the Collections · V&A

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore the Art Deco collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Ranging from fabrics to vases, discover our Art Deco objects from the 1920s and 1930s.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Francis Cugat's striking cover illustration 'Celestial Eyes', commissioned for the 1925 edition of The Great Gatsby, is probably one of the most iconic images in literary design history.
The haunting eyes, painted in gouache, peering out of a deep blue background, float ominously above bright red lips and a glowing cityscape. Each eye features a floating nude - somewhat risqué for the time and perhaps alluding to the seemingly scandalous nature of F. Scott Fitzgerald's prose.

Cugat - born Francisco Coradal-Cougat - was relatively unknown when he was give the job in 1924. Fitzgerald was running late with his text and Cugat finished the work, for which he was paid a mere $100, before the novel itself was finished. This resulted in a somewhat unusual collaborative process between the illustrator and author.

'For Christ's sake, don't give anyone that jacket you're saving for me. I've written it into the book,' Fitzgerald wrote in a letter to his editor Max Perkins in 1924.

There are various theories as to exactly what Fitzgerald meant by this. Some people believe that Cugat intended the eyes to represent Daisy looking down onto the cityscape of New York, while Fitzgerald chose to interpret them in the book itself in the form of the recurring billboard eyes of Dr T. J. Eckleburg.

' The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic - their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose,' Fitzgerald wrote in Chapter 2.

Certainly Scribner agreed that this was the case, commenting, 'I do not know of another case in which an author acknowledges so central a debt to an illustrator.'

While Fitzgerald loved Cugat's painting, not everyone agreed with him. In his posthumously published memoir A Moveable Feast (1964), the writer Ernest Hemingway recalled Fitzgerald giving him a copy of The Great Gatsby. Hemingway thought the cover 'garish', commenting that it had the look of a 'bad science fiction' novel.

'Scott told me not to be put off by it, that it had to do with a billboard along a highway in Long Island that was important in the story,' he wrote. 'He said he had liked the jacket and now he didn't like it.'

So appalled was Hemingway by the cover that he 'took it off to read the book.'

Thankfully, most people disagree with Hemingway and Cugat's jacket illustration commonly makes best cover design lists.

Interestingly, in 2013, following the release of Baz Luhrmann's remake of The Great Gatsby (sacrilege!) a new edition of the book featuring a film tie-in cover was published. Sales of the Cugat-jacketed edition rocketed.

Today, the original Cugat gouache artwork forms part of the Princeton University Library for the Graphic Arts Collection and was donated by Charles Scribner III. He inherited it from his cousin, George Schieffelin, who discovered it in a bin comprising publishing 'dead matter'.

He very sensibly took it home.

Images: The original gouache painting produced by Cugat (1924); early sketches for the jacket by Cugat (1924); the full jacket of the first edition published by Scribner in 1925.

Book covers we love: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man by E. McNight Kauffer (1952); Dorothy L. Sayers' Busman's Honeymoon by Romek Marber (1963); Georgette Heyer's Frederica - Arthur Barbosa (1965).

See also: ' Presenting Ms Georgette Heyer' and ' Books that changed my life' boards, both Pinterest; articles: ' How Penguin learned to fly - Allen Lane and the Original Penguin 10'; 'Romek Marber '.

' Pinterest - "inspiration snacking" or something more? A few tips for authors '.

Notice: Please note the images and quotations included in this article are for promotional purposes only and are intended as a homage to the designers, artists and writers cited. In no way, have we have intentionally breached anyone's copyright. If you believe otherwise, please contact us and we will take down any text/images as appropriate.
This article is ©The Literary Shed, 2015. All opinions are our own. Please only reproduce it with our permission and credit us appropriately. Please contact us if you wish to do so.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby - Francis Cugat (1925)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Francis Cugat's striking cover illustration 'Celestial Eyes', commissioned for the 1925 edition of The Great Gatsby, is probably one of the most iconic images in literary design history. The haunting eyes, painted in gouache, peering out of a deep blue background, float ominously above bright red lips and a glowing cityscape.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Arts Décoratifs: The History of Art Deco

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The beautiful Art Deco style is characterized by its admiration for the concept of modernity and the advancement of machinery and technology.

# data[].attributes.body
Stills from The Great Gatsby (2013)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s" - Patricia Bayer

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s" - Patricia Bayer

# data[].attributes.headline
"Fashion of a Decade: The 1920s" - Jacqueline Herald (Part one)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Fashion of a Decade: The 1920s" - Jacqueline Herald (Part one)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Fashion of a Decade: The 1920s" - Jacqueline Herald (Part two)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Fashion of a Decade: The 1920s" - Jacqueline Herald (Part two)

# data[].attributes.headline
"20th Century Fashion" - Valerie Mendes, Amy De La Haye

# data[].attributes.subject
"20th Century Fashion" - Valerie Mendes, Amy De La Haye

# data[].attributes.headline
"Fashion in Costume 1200-2000" - Joan Nunn

# data[].attributes.subject
"Fashion in Costume 1200-2000" - Joan Nunn

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Textiles: the French Designers" - Alain-Rene Hardy (Part one)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Textiles: the French Designers" - Alain-Rene Hardy (Part one)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Textiles: the French Designers" - Alain-Rene Hardy (Part two)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Textiles: the French Designers" - Alain-Rene Hardy (Part two)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Textiles: the French Designers" - Alain-Rene Hardy (Part three)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Textiles: the French Designers" - Alain-Rene Hardy (Part three)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part one)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part one)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part two)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part two)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part three)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part three)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part four)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Art Deco Paintings" - Edward Lucie Smith (Part four)

# data[].attributes.body
Who knew they had a sense of humour?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Popular 1920s dance styles and fashion in the Jazz Age - Charleston, Fox Trot, Peabody

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Dark History of 1920s Makeup | Rise of the Modern Cosmetics Industry

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Flapper Story - Roaring '20s Documentary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Art Deco vs. Art Nouveau:  What’s The Difference? Art History 101

# data[].attributes.headline
"All Colour Book of Art Deco" - Dan Klein (part one)

# data[].attributes.subject
"All Colour Book of Art Deco" - Dan Klein (part one)

# data[].attributes.headline
"All Colour Book of Art Deco" - Dan Klein (part two)

# data[].attributes.subject
"All Colour Book of Art Deco" - Dan Klein (part two)

# data[].attributes.headline
"American Art Deco" - Alastair Duncan (part one)

# data[].attributes.subject
"American Art Deco" - Alastair Duncan (part one)

# data[].attributes.headline
"American Art Deco" - Alastair Duncan (part two)

# data[].attributes.subject
"American Art Deco" - Alastair Duncan (part two)

# data[].attributes.headline
"The Postcard Century: 2000 Cards and Their Messages" - Tom Philips

# data[].attributes.subject
"The Postcard Century: 2000 Cards and Their Messages" - Tom Philips

# data[].attributes.headline
"High Fashion: The 20th Century Decade by Decade" - Emmanuelle Dirix

# data[].attributes.subject
"High Fashion: The 20th Century Decade by Decade" - Emmanuelle Dirix

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The first cover of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" in 1925 features the artwork of Francis Cugat.

" Celestial Eyes," the name of the painting, is inarguably one of the most recognizable book covers ever created.

Fitzgerald took such a fancy to the artwork that he wrote it into the book.

If you head to bookstores now, you may be hard-pressed to find those eyes staring out at you.

Last week, publisher Scribner released a movie tie-in edition of the classic featuring Leonardo DiCaprio looking out at the reader with Carey Mulligan looking distantly onward below.

If you're partial to the original jacket, don't worry. You can still purchase the classic look.

The New York Times reports Scribner sells approximately 500,000 copies of the book each year.

Since its initial printing in 1925, "The Great Gatsby" has been translated into 42 languages including Spanish, French, and Russian.

Though Cugat's book jacket is the most iconic one to associate the book with today, its far from the only fancy book art.

We've compiled some of the different covers of the book since its launch.

"The Great Gatsby" is in theaters May 10.
There are many variations on the American version of the novel. This version cleverly hides Daisy's face to keep the illusion of her face. While another highlights Gatsby's car from the trailer. This one references the green light from the book. A movie tie-in with the 1949 film features Alan Ladd in one of the novel's end scenes. Note the line at the top, "The Great Novel Of The Sinful Twenties." In other countries, the book looks really different. Here's one version of a book in China. This Russian paperback is more regal. This French cover suggests a meeting between Gatsby and Daisy. And a Spanish cover shows part of Gatsby's car. Many reference the lavishness and looks of the roaring '20s:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
11 'Great Gatsby' Book Covers From Around The World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The first cover of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" in 1925 features the artwork of Francis Cugat. " Celestial Eyes," the name of the painting, is inarguably one of the most recognizable book covers ever created. Fitzgerald took such a fancy to the artwork that he wrote it into the book.

# data[].attributes.body
Jean Dunand was a swiss sculptor, painter, metal craftsman and interior designer. He had learned the art of lacquer during his work under Seizo Sugawara, who was a lacquer painter that had emigrated to France. Dunand was the first to use crushed eggshell creatively in his work.

# data[].attributes.body
Ferdinand Preiss was a German sculptor who was considered one of the leading sculptors during the art deco period. He usually worked in ivory and was known for creating sculptures in dynamic poses. Preiss revolutionised ivory carving as he developed using techniques involving a dental drill.

# data[].attributes.body
Kees Van Dongen was a Dutch-French painter famous for his sensual female portraiture where the subjects are drawn slim figures and large, almond shaped eyes. He was nicknamed "the painter of brothels" as he was captivated by the red light district and often painted its dancers, singers and prostitutes.

# data[].attributes.body
Marie Laurencin was a French artist particularly famous for artwork that typically excluded the male species and had hyper-feminine, sapphic undertones. Her paintings consisted of soft, pastel palettes and willowy, graceful women.

# data[].attributes.body
Daisy has a fur collar in chapter 6

# data[].attributes.body
Jay and Daisy do the fox trot in chapter 6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Great Gatsby (2013) ⭐ 7.2 | Drama, Romance

# data[].attributes.body
Erte (born Romain de Tirtoff) was a Russian born French artist and designer. He was considered on of the pioneers of the Art Deco movement and supposedly had "neither equal nor rival." Erte became known through his contribution to the Harper's Bazaar magazine, where he oversaw publication for 22 years and designed over 240 magazine covers.

# data[].attributes.body
Jean Dupas was a French painter, designer, poster artist and was considered one of the pioneers of the Art Deco movement and period. In the late 1920s and 30s, Dupas won multiple prestigious and important commissions. He worked alongside Ruhlmann and sculptor, Alfred Jeanniot on the tearoom decoration of the ocean liner Ile-de France, which was one of the first great transantlantic ships to be built in France after World War one.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Let the age of progress begin: at the beginning of the 20th century, the speed, movement, stress, and challenge marking the European avant-garde art movements merge into a decorative style that combines the modern world of machines and historical artisanal manners. That's the Art Deco, which spread in the 1920s and 1930s in all the applied arts, also embracing the world of textiles.

The Main Features of Art Deco

The Art Nouveau movement, with its flowers and stylized and twisting figures, couldn't convey the speed and power of machines and industry that fascinated artists at that time. They needed a more avant-garde style, which could communicate an idea of movement, as well as of luxury, during an age of economic growth.

Thus, Art Deco was born, combining many different and sometimes contradictory styles: Cubism, Neoclassicism, Abstract art, Futurism, Modernism, and "primitive" arts such as African, Aztec, Egyptian, and Greek, of the geometric and archaic periods. It was inspired by all technological innovations, especially related to transport. The result is something of great elegance, clean forms, originality, and refinement.

Among its characteristics are curved wide lines, geometries, simplifications and symbolism, and contrasting colors. Luxury is expressed in the choice of the most expensive materials and finest craftsmanship such as ebony wood furniture with exquisite ivory inlays, or handmade silk velvets.

From Paris, it spreads all over the world at the beginning of the 20th century and, in the United States, where it arrives a little later, it expresses some of its greatest examples, especially in architecture.

Art Deco Patterns for Luxury Interior Fabrics

The soprarizzo Walls is a precious handmade velvet whose pattern shows clean, modern lines and dynamic spirals of stylized fountains, that also distinguish an exclusive bag, the Madison tote bag. In the same motif, we have also created the Walls lampas, enriching these fabrics with metallic yarns that give them shining gleams and the opulence so dear to Art Deco. In the same lampas, Walls scatter cushions are also available.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Patterns of Art Deco Fabrics: Modernity and Elegance Reloaded

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out what Art Deco's signature motifs are and why they're still up to date with a few examples of our luxury upholstery fabrics.