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Mark O. Howald
Executive Vice-President,
Twentieth Century Design Specialist

Andy J. Wright
Twentieth Century Design Specialist
Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers,
Saint Louis, Missouri
It all comes down to what we call “the commercialization of modernism.” The marketing of modernism is responsible for its great success over the past ten years. Some contributing factors are:

• Mass media with an ever larger variety of publications and even television shows devoted to today’s design trends.

• A remarkable array of beautiful auction catalogues, illustrated books and internet sites offering information.

• A profusion of fairs, shows and lectures.

• Mass advertising to draw the public in to everything from local art shows to major museum exhibitions.

• New museums by star architects housing a increasing number of works of modern and contemporary design and art, with museum shops offering mass distribution and imaging of those pieces.

• Mass marketing of designers and artists as celebrities, featuring everything from expensive one-of-a-kind pieces to utilitarian articles.

• Trend-setting dealers, many acting as agents for designers and artists, feeding a frenzied public of collectors.

• The auction houses and internet auctions which have pioneered the marketing and promoted the accessibility of these competitive markets to both the buyer and the seller of design.


Reed Kroloff
Director, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum,
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
In the last 10 years, one of the most important developments in modernism has been the rise of such publications as Modernism, Dwell and Wallpaper. Although each of these is very different, and one could argue they reflect, rather than lead a trend, I would counter that these publications help bring modernism to a vastly increased audience. They also make the assumption for that audience that modernism isn’t something odd, out of reach or unusable; rather, it is very much attainable and useful in their lives (and also, at times, glamorous). In short, it is part of everyday life.

Though admittedly a bit self-serving, I would predict the recognition of Cranbrook as the American Bauhaus. When you look at who came out of this school (Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Daniel Libeskind, to name only five — and there are many, many more), it is truly remarkable. No other place can claim either the range or level of achievement, or, and perhaps most importantly, effect on the American modern movement. Try to think of American modernism without Cranbrook: quite simply, you can’t. Yet when was the last time someone really discussed it seriously?  Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117
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