Modernism in design and architecture emerged in the aftermath of the First World War and the Russian Revolution – a period when the artistic avant-garde dreamed of a new world free of conflict, greed and social inequality. It was not a style but a loose collection of ideas. Many different styles can be characterised as Modernist, but they shared certain underlying principles: a rejection of history and applied ornament; a preference for abstraction; and a belief that design and technology could transform society.
Room 74: 20th Century, Internationalism & Modernism
This room is divided into three bays. The first includes objects made between 1900 and 1920, a time when appropriate uses for mechanised production were fiercely debated. I…
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Modernism: Searching for Utopia
At the beginning of the twenty-first century our relationship to Modernism is complex. The built environment that we live in today was largely shaped by Modernism.
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'The Machine'
Central to the Modernist dreams of a new utopia was the idea of technology, represented in word and image by ‘the machine’.
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Modernism: Building Utopia
In the mid 1920s, as the post-war economy improved, Modernists utopian desire to create a better world began to take shape.
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Modernism and Nature
During the 1930s many designers and architects, especially the more avant-garde, turned away from mainstream Modernism. Eschewing objectivity, geometry and machine imagery,…
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Biographies of Modernist Designers
Read the biographies of some of the key Modernist designers.
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Kitchen Clock, by Max Bill, 1956
This kitchen clock, which incorporates a mechanical timer, was designed by Max Bill whilst director of the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG Ulm), the experimental design scho…
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Penguin Donkey Bookcase by Egon Riss and Isokon, 1939
This bookcase was was made by Isokon, probably the most forward-thinking British furniture manufacturer of the 1930s. In the late 30s this little bookcase was set to be a b…
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Drinks Trolley by Zsuzsa Kozma, 1938-9
This Kozma drinks trolley, designed by Zsuzsa Kozma in Budapest was given to the V&A in 1997. It is associated with immigration at the end of the Second World War. In 1947 …
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Designs for Prefabricated House Fronts, by Berthold Lubetkin, 1949
Modernist architect Berthold Lubetkin created these theoretical designs for the 100 Houses Scheme, Thorntree Gill Housing, Peterlee, County Durham, drawing by Peter Yates, …
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Archives of Sir Hugh Casson and Margaret Macdonald Casson
The archives of Sir Hugh Casson (1910–1999) and Margaret Macdonald Casson (1913–1999) are important additions to the Museum’s collection of papers of twentieth-century Brit…
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Marcel Breuer and Motley
Marcel Breuer met the designers behind the Motley Theatre Design Group in 1936, during the London Theatre Studio project in Islington, London. When the Motleys ventured int…
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A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Cold War Modern (Paperback)
This ground-breaking study of modern art, architecture, design and film examines the Cold War as a conflict between differing conceptions of modern li…
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