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Art Deco: Style and Design
Online course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
Tickets available from 10.00 on Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Discover the delights of Art Deco, often considered the most distinctive and elegant of international, inter-war styles. Informed by a wide range of global influences, it embraced both the precious and the mass-produced, as well as epitomising glamour and modernity.
Learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with 10 hours of study over 5 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 5 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
For more details, see V&A Academy questions
Learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with 10 hours of study over 5 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 5 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
For more details, see V&A Academy questions
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
V&A Academy Course Leader
Christine Lalumia
Christine Lalumia lectures and writes on design, art and garden histories with a keen interest in cultural context. A consultant lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, she was deputy director of The Museum of the Home for 21 years.
Excellent lectures with very good course materials, subject expertise with external connections. I also like flexible approach to the live sessions, especially the recordings to back up the learning. Previous V&A Academy Student
Course overview
Join us on this 5-week Art Deco course. Distinctive and intriguing, Art Deco began as a luxury style in Paris in the early years of the 20th century, creating exclusive handmade goods for wealthy connoisseurs, which featured exquisite craftsmanship and rare materials. But within decades - and in response to a rapidly-changing society during the inter-war years - Deco became what was, in effect, a ‘set of international styles’ expressing modernity, and aimed at a wide range of consumers from all walks of life.
We will explore the diverse sources and influences on Deco design, including a growing interest in ancient Egyptian, Aztec and Mayan cultures and in the arts of Africa and Japan. The use of ‘exotic’ and precious materials will be contrasted with an increasing embrace of the nascent machine aesthetic, which used ‘new’ materials like aluminium, Bakelite and chrome.
This course considers key figures, designers and tastemakers such as Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Eileen Gray, Paul Poiret, Jean Dunand, Jean Michel-Frank, and Rene Lalique, and themes including exhibitions, skyscrapers, ‘exoticism’ and the influence of Hollywood films.
Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Wednesday 4 February 2026. General Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Monday 12 February 2026.
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Enrol now
Online course: Art Deco: Style and Design
28 May 2026 - 25 June 2026
£125.00
Tickets not available yet
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
